Yokohama Opens Legal Proceedings Against Competitors

(Akron/Tire Review) Yokohama Tire Corp. has “initiated legal proceedings against several tyre companies,” including Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., Ltd. (China), Tireco Inc. (USA), Cooper Tire & Rubber (USA), Guizhou Tire Co. Ltd. (China) and Greenball Corp. (USA). claiming infringement of Yokohama tyre patents. Yokohama said it filed suit in Los Angeles federal court on 1 September for patent infringement against Hangzhou and Tireco for unauthorized use of the patented Geolandar A/T+II tread design. At the same time, Yokohama has demanded that Cooper cease infringing the patent protecting the tread design of Yokohama’s AVS dB S2 tyre.

Yokohama also claimed it made a similar demand to Guizhou and Greenball “relative to their unauthorized use of Yokohama’s Advan trademark.” Yokohama offered no further details on its actions. There was no immediate comment from the various companies Yokohama claims to have initiated action against.

“We want the industry copycats to be on clear notice: steal our designs and you will be sued,” said Jim MacMaster, Yokohama’s executive vice president. “Yokohama continues to produce industry- leading tires and tread patterns that others sometimes try to replicate. So once again, we have to stop others from using our designs. As displayed by this most recent enforcement activity, Yokohama will continue to aggressively enforce its patent and trademark rights.”