Bedding company Tempur Sealy International filed a lawsuit against California retailer Seltyk Mattress for alleged trademark infringement, selling counterfeit mattresses and running false advertising.
The lawsuit, which was filed Aug. 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, says Seltyk Mattress—which operates one store in Los Angeles—is not authorized to sell the company’s mattresses or use its trademarks.
The lawsuit alleges that Seltyk Mattress sold fake Tempur-Pedic mattresses and used variations of Tempur Sealy marks to advertise its products. Also, according to the suit, the retailer used counterfeit and sometimes misspelled Tempur Sealy marks to drive traffic to its store and sell via its Instagram account.
Tempur Sealy also accused Seltyk Mattress of using brand names and images similar to their subsidiaries, including the name “Posture-o-pedic,” which is similar to Tempur’s Posturepedic and Posture-o-Pedico trademarks. The retailer also allegedly used Stearns & Foster’s fleur de lis design in store collateral.
Via the lawsuit, Tempur Sealy accused Seltyk Mattress of “suggesting a connection, association or affiliation” with the company’s brands, creating “the misleading impression that the Defendant is selling Tempur Sealy products, when in fact it is not.”
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According to the lawsuit, Tempur’s attorney served Seltyk with a cease and desist request in March with a follow-up in May, but those requests were ignored. The mattress maker is asking the retailer to pay $4 million in damages for using counterfeit trademarks. Tempur also asked that Seltyk destroy all mattresses, foundations, printed marketing pieces, point of purchase signs, and any other collateral bearing the images or phrases in question.
Tempur also has asked Seltyk to account for and pay the mattress maker for profits and advantages gained as a result of the retailer’s actions; pay Tempur Sealy three times Seltyk’s profits from the actions; pay three times Tempur Sealy’s damages; and reimburse the manufacturer for attorney’s fees and court costs.
Neither Tempur Sealy nor Seltyk responded to a request for comment.