Road Warriors

“Infringers threaten innovation,” Hendrickson says. “Infringing companies unfairly benefit from innovating companies because they don’t have to recoup the cost of research and development. This win is the stimulus for us, as well as other manufacturers, to globally continue pursing infringers.”

Schade remains a believer that most companies respect the intellectual properties of others. His company’s diligence in fighting to protect its rights not only succeeded, but set the example going forward—that Lifetime will defend its patents.

“We try and let people know what we’re doing with regards to IP. I think this case was a long time coming, and it took a lot of work, both here and in China. Once we invested the time and the effort and the patience, it was nice to get some payback.”

Especially in this “road game” that few may have thought a U.S. company could win.