Reebok-CCM Hockey is being sued by Hefter Impact Technologies (HIT), and is pressing the helmet maker for more information to substantiate their claims. HIT is alleging that Sport Maska, Inc., who is doing business as Reebok-CCM, ignored a contractual obligation by using a certain design of a hockey helmet which HIT has proprietary rights to.
HIT had previously been well compensated from sales of the Vector line of helmets, which Reebok-CCM began producing in 2007 based on HIT designs. HIT was paid $1.4 million in royalties in addition to a one-time contractual payment of $350,000. However, the royalty payments stopped when Reebok-CCM began producing a new line of helmets, the Resistance series. HIT is claiming the Resistance series is substantially similar to the Vector series, and that compensation is due under the contract between the two companies.
Sport Maska is claiming the design of the Resistance series is “completely different” than the Vector helmet, and does not use any HIT design that would call for royalty payments. On Wednesday, Sport Maska asked HIT to produce annotated design drawings showing how their designs are similar to the design of the Resistance series helmets. According to Sport Maska, these discovery requests will refute the “excessively vague requests” made in HIT’s complaint.