GONZALES, La. and MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 9,
2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Crown Crafts, Inc. (NASDAQ-CM:
CRWS) and BreathableBaby, LLC jointly announced today that they
have reached a settlement with respect to a patent infringement
lawsuit filed in January 2012 by
BreathableBaby in Minneapolis
regarding its U.S. Patent No. 7,055,192, which claims certain
innovations concerning mesh crib liners. Crown Crafts has agreed to
pay BreathableBaby $850,000.
"We are pleased that we were able to reach an amicable
agreement, and now we can devote our full attention to operating
our business," said E. Randall
Chestnut, Chairman, President and Chief Executive
Officer. "A one-time charge was recorded in the second
quarter of our 2015 fiscal year, which ended September 28, 2014, that will impact our
full-year net income on an after-tax basis by approximately
$530,000, or $0.05 per share."
In a statement released by BreathableBaby, they said "We are
pleased with the outcome of the case and will continue to enforce
our patent rights against other competitors as necessary to protect
our intellectual property".
About Crown Crafts, Inc.
Crown Crafts, Inc. designs, markets and distributes infant,
toddler and juvenile consumer products, including crib and toddler
bedding; blankets; nursery accessories; room decor; burp cloths;
bathing accessories; reusable and disposable bibs; and disposable
placemats, floor mats, toilet seat covers and changing mats.
The Company's operating subsidiaries consist of Crown Crafts Infant
Products, Inc. in California and
Hamco, Inc. in Louisiana. Crown Crafts is among America's
largest producers of infant bedding, bibs and bath items. The
Company's products include licensed and branded collections, as
well as exclusive private label programs for certain of its
customers. The Company's website is www.crowncrafts.com.
About BreathableBaby, LLC
Founded in 2002, BreathableBaby designs, manufactures and sells
infant bedding, clothing and toys under the BreathableBaby™ Brand
name. The cornerstone of the company is their patented
breathable mesh crib liner, which offers an alternative to
conventional crib bumpers. The Company's products are
available in most major retailers in the U.S., including Target,
Babies R' Us, Buy Buy Baby, Walmart and
Amazon.com<http://Amazon.com>.
Forward-Looking Statements
The foregoing contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Such statements are based upon management's current expectations,
projections, estimates and assumptions. Words such as "expects,"
"believes," "anticipates" and variations of such words and similar
expressions identify such forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially
from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks
include, among others, general economic conditions, including
changes in interest rates, in the overall level of consumer
spending and in the price of oil, cotton and other raw materials
used in the Company's products, changing competition, changes in
the retail environment, the level and pricing of future orders from
the Company's customers, the extent to which the Company's business
is concentrated in a small number of customers, the Company's
dependence upon third-party suppliers, including some located in
foreign countries, customer acceptance of both new designs and
newly-introduced product lines, actions of competitors that may
impact the Company's business, disruptions to transportation
systems or shipping lanes used by the Company or its suppliers, and
the Company's dependence upon licenses from third parties.
Reference is also made to the Company's periodic filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission for additional factors that may
impact the Company's results of operations and financial condition.
The Company does not undertake to update the forward-looking
statements contained herein to conform to actual results or changes
in our expectations, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.
Contact:
At Crown Crafts,
Inc.:
Olivia
Elliott
Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer
(225)
647-9124
oelliott@crowncrafts.com
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/crown-crafts-and-breathablebaby-settle-patent-litigation-300007202.html
SOURCE Crown Crafts, Inc.