Two Companies Request Import Ban on Patent-Infringing Archery Products

Bear Archery and SOP Services on May 9 filed a Section 337 complaint at the International Trade Commission requesting a ban on importation of some archery products made by Chinese company Ningbo Topoint Outdoor Sports. Bear and SOP say arrow rests and broadheads made by Topoint infringe its patents. Specifically, the arrow rests copy a patented design for a “full capture” or “containment shoot-through” rest that fully encircles the arrow with bristles or some other flexible material to provide support for the arrow prior to being fired. The arrow broadheads infringe Bear’s patent on an arrowhead that includes sharpened blades that expand on impact to cause increased bleeding, with the intention of causing a more humane kill than a regular arrow tip. Bear and SOP say infringing products include Topoint’s TP813, TP8l5, TPl05,TP2000, TP9000, TP222, and TP223. They are requesting a general exclusion order banning importation of all infringing archery products, or in the alternative a limited exclusion order directed only at imports from Topoint.