I4F, Beauflor and Carpet Express settle US infringement lawsuit on luxury vinyl “Boardwalk” branded products out of court

• Beauflor signing non-assert agreement with I4F for U.S. Patent No. 10,053,868 on Boardwalk luxury vinyl plank products using 5Gi system in the US

WILLEMSTAD, CURAÇAO – I4F, a group of companies providing patents and technologies to the flooring industry, today announced the settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit it filed in the United States against US retailer Carpet Express and Beauflor USA, LLC. I4F’s filing related to the Beauflor Boardwalk collection of luxury vinyl plank products, using Välinge’s 5Gi locking system, which I4F alleged was in clear infringement of US 10,053,868.

As part of the settlement, Beauflor is signing a non-assertion agreement with I4F for one patent of its 3L TripleLock technology in the US in relation to the 5Gi technology. In addition, all boxes containing Beauflor Boardwalk luxury vinyl plank products using 5Gi locking being imported or sold in the US will be marked with I4F’s patent number US’ 868.

John Rietveldt, I4F’s CEO, says, “We are pleased that we have been able to arrive at this swift settlement with Beauflor. I4F continues to do everything in its power to safeguard its licensees, patents and technologies around the world by implementing a patent strategy providing licensees with transparency and flexibility as well as a strong and broad scope of patent protection.”