LovePop vs. PopLife: A High-Stakes Battle Over 3D Greeting Card Patents

As Mother's Day passes and Father's Day approaches, millions of Americans have browsed, purchased, and gifted greeting cards. As seen on Shark Tank, LovePop is a prominent greeting card creator/manufacturer specializing in 3D cards that can stand on their own. While many may view LovePop's cards as merely artistic creations, the fantastical cards require a great deal of engineering. To create a 3D card that can be opened, closed, stand on its own, and still function after being shipped hundreds of miles, significant time and energy were spent crafting the techniques and technology that make LovePop's cards unique. That technology has been patented by LovePop to protect the work and intellect that went into creating the greeting cards that many have grown to love.

Patent Dispute

On April 30th, LovePop filed a suit against competitor PopLife. PopLife is a smaller greeting card company that also specializes in 3D greeting cards. LovePop believes that PopLife is infringing upon multiple patents for their greeting cards, specifically the technology that allows the cards to be three-dimensional. LovePop claims to have sent cease and desist letters to PopLife, which were either ignored or responded to with a refusal to cease manufacturing the 3D greeting cards in question. PopLife has yet to formally respond to the complaint and the allegations within.

Copyright and Trademark Claims

While the patent infringement claims are the heart of the suit brought by LovePop, copyright and trademark infringement claims were also asserted against PopLife. LovePop claims that PopLife has infringed upon their copyright for specific card designs. LovePop also alleges that PopLife's logo (a red heart with a tree) is intentionally similar to LovePop's (a red heart with a cutout) to deceive consumers into buying their products, constituting trademark infringement. These copyright and trademark allegations by LovePop turn this suit from a simple patent infringement case into an all-encompassing intellectual property infringement suit.

Greater Purpose

The lawsuit of LovePop against PopLife is a specific example of a typical patent infringement case. The trend of bigger companies suing smaller companies that are encroaching upon their area of business is a historically prevalent battle that will continue to be fought in courtrooms for the foreseeable future. The challenge of protecting the interests of bigger companies while still encouraging the growth of smaller entities is a balance the court system has been attempting to find since the invention of the patent system.

Next Steps

PopLife has yet to respond to the complaint submitted by LovePop, so it is unclear what defenses or counterclaims PopLife may have. It is not unusual for smaller companies with fewer resources to settle before the suit continues down the expensive trial path. However, since PopLife previously refused to comply with LovePop's cease and desist demand, this may be a rarer situation where a small company fervently defends its products in court against a large company with extensive resources. It will definitely be a case to watch for those interested in the historical trend of large companies suing small entities for patent infringement.