Eames Office and Maharam, the exclusive licensee and sole authorized producer of Dot Pattern fabric, filed suit in federal court in Manhattan against fabric supplier Swavelle/Mill Creek Fabrics and Easthill Hotel Corp which operates The Pod Hotel on East 51st Street in New York City. The lawsuit claims copyright infringement and unfair competition arising out of Easthill’s purchase of several thousand yards of a facsimile of the Dot Pattern fabric from Swavelle/Mill Creek.  The Pod Hotel used the fabric as hotel bedding, and incorporated photographs of it and Dot Pattern graphics in its marketing materials.

As a part of the settlement, while neither admitting nor denying liability, Easthill and Swavelle apologized for the incident, and acknowledged Eames’s copyright in the Dot Pattern.  Swavelle agreed to cease selling any unauthorized Eames or Maharam designs, and Easthill agreed to remove the fabric from its hotel and to immediately cease using the pattern on its website and in its brochures. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

“We are very pleased to have amicably settled this matter,” says Michael Maharam, a Principal of Maharam, “but the clear message to the industry should be that Maharam will vigorously protect its licensed designs.”  Eames Demetrios, director of Eames Office said “Charles and Ray’s vision included beautiful, quality, authentic design experiences. The Eames family continues to serve that vision and preserve the integrity of the Eames name.”