Lycra
The LYCRA Company, a global leader in creating innovative and sustainable solutions for the clothing and personal care sectors, has introduced a plan to protect its LYCRA® FitSense™ technology through intellectual property enforcement.
LYCRA® FitSense™ Technology is a special liquid version of the LYCRA® material that can be printed onto fabrics and clothes to provide extra shaping and compression in specific areas. It’s popular among both local Chinese brands and major international ones.
This type of LYCRA® technology that can be printed on clothes is covered by a worldwide collection of patents related to printing techniques that adjust how clothes stretch and recover. The term LYCRA® FitSense™ also has legal protection.
This technology is mainly used in garments like shapewear, activewear, swimwear, underwear, and leggings. It lets lightweight, single-layer printed fabrics offer the same benefits as thicker, double-layer fabrics, which means using fewer materials. This advancement in technology allows for better garment design, creating more supportive and comfortable clothes for modern consumers.
Vincent Hu, the Vice President of Asia, Apparel, and President of the APAC region, explained that because the advantages of LYCRA® FitSense™ technology are so important, there are attempts by other products to imitate it. Since The LYCRA Company is the owner of the intellectual property for this unique technology, they believe it’s right to use their legal rights to address any unauthorized copies.
The LYCRA Company has a lot of patents and patent applications related to the use of special liquid versions of polyurethane and these patents cover different aspects of this technology. Catherine Spicer, the Chief Legal Officer of The LYCRA Company, mentioned that this means producing, shipping, or selling fabrics or clothes using this technology in China, the U.S.A., or other countries where The LYCRA Company has these patents, is only allowed for The LYCRA Company, its customers, or other rightful users of the technology. The company has hired legal experts in Shanghai to find anyone who infringes on LYCRA® FitSense™ technology, and they plan to take necessary action against them.
This new strategy to protect the intellectual property of LYCRA® FitSense™ technology follows similar successful actions taken by The LYCRA Company in the past, especially in the denim industry in China related to LYCRA® dualFX® technology. The company owns more than 950 patents, with nearly 80 of them granted or filed in 2022, and considers the development of intellectual property a crucial part of its long-term business plan.
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