Complaint Against Firstline, Incorporated Filed by Kiss Nail Products, Inc.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Exhibit 4, # 5 Exhibit 5, # 6 Exhibit 6, # 7 Exhibit 7, # 8 Exhibit 8, # 9 Civil Cover Sheet) (Acosta, Matthew)
1KISS is a company organized and existing under the laws of New Jersey, having its principal place of business at 25 Harbor Park Drive, Port Washington, New York 11050.
2Upon information and belief, Firstline is a company organized and existing under the laws Texas, having its principal place of business at 13023 Trinity Drive, Stafford, Texas 77477.
3Upon information and belief, Firstline is in the business of manufacturing and selling hair accessories, including hairbrushes, combs, sleep maintenance items, and styling accessories.
4Upon information and belief, Firstline has manufactured, sold, and/or offered for sale an apparatus for coiling hair called WavEnforcer® Dual Side Twist Sponge, such as shown in Exhibit 1, throughout the United States (“Accused Product”).
4:26-cv-2479 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT JURISDICTION AND VENUE
5This is an action for patent infringement arising under the patent laws of the United States, 35 U.S.C. § 271, et seq.
6This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338.
7This Court has personal jurisdiction over Firstline at least because it is incorporated under the laws of and its principal place of business is located in the State of Texas.
8Venue in this District is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391 and 1400(b) at least because: (i) Firstline is organized under the laws of and its principal place of business is located in this District; and (ii) upon information and belief, Firstline has committed acts of infringement in Texas and has a regular and established place of business in Texas and within this District.
THE PATENT IN SUIT
9KISS is the owner, by way of assignment of U.S. Patent No. 11,974,645 (the “‘645 Patent” or the “Patent-in-Suit”), which is entitled, “Device and Method for Coiling Hair.” See Exhibit 2.
10The ‘645 Patent was filed on February 18, 2021, and it lists Siyong Sung, Kyusang Han, and Younghun Kim as the inventors. KISS is listed on the ‘645 Patent as the assignee.
11The ‘645 Patent was issued on May 7, 2024, and it is presumed to be valid.
12As an example, Claim 1 of the’645 Patent covers: An apparatus for coiling hair comprising:
a working end comprising a plurality of spaced-apart monoliths having round distal ends and a plurality of dimples surrounding at least one of the monoliths; wherein said monoliths comprise a non-pliable material, wherein said monoliths are positioned at respective vertices of squares having sides of substantially similar lengths, wherein said dimples are semi-spherical and are positioned at respective centers of the squares, wherein centers of the plurality of dimples are located on a plane that defines a floor of the working end, and
COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
wherein the working end further comprises a plurality of apertures surrounding the at least one of the monoliths.
THE ACCUSED PRODUCT
13Upon information and belief, the Accused Product was first made publicly available for sale after February 18, 2021.
14The Accused Product is an apparatus for coiling hair that includes a working end comprising a plurality of spaced-apart monoliths having round distal ends and a plurality of dimples surrounding at least one of the monoliths.
15The Accused Product includes monoliths comprised of a non-pliable material.
16The Accused Product includes monoliths positioned at respective vertices of squares having sides of substantially similar lengths.
17The Accused Produced includes dimples that are semi-spherical and are positioned at respective centers of the squares.
18The Accused Product includes centers of the plurality of dimples that are located on a plane that defines a floor of the working end.
19The Accused Product includes a working end comprised of a plurality of apertures surrounding at least one of the monoliths.
20The Accused Product meets each and every limitation of at least claim 1 of the ‘645 Patent.
ADDITIONAL FACTS
21On March 6, 2025, KISS sent Firstline a cease-and-desist letter demanding that Firstline, inter alia, cease and desist from all sales of the Accused Product. See Exhibit 3.
22By at least this date, Firstline had actual and constructive knowledge that the Accused Product infringes the ‘645 Patent.
COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
23On March 18, 20215, Firstline responded through counsel requesting a claim chart providing an analysis supporting its claim of infringement. See Exhibit 4. Firstline did not agree to comply with KISS’s demands in the cease-and-desist letter.
24On April 4, 2025, KISS replied by sending a letter enclosing a claim chart comparing independent claim 1 of the ‘645 Patent to the Accused Product and showing how the Accused Product infringes by meeting each and every limitation of a least claim 1 of the ‘645 Patent. See Exhibit 5 (the “Claim Chart”).
25As shown in the Claim Chart at pages 1 - 3, the Accused Product is “[a]n apparatus for coiling hair” that includes “a working end comprising a plurality of spaced-apart monoliths having round distal ends and a plurality of dimples surrounding at least one of the monoliths,” which reflects the first limitation of claim 1 of the Patent-in-Suit.
26As shown in the Claim Chart at page 4, the Accused Product’s “monoliths comprise a non-pliable material,” which reflects the second limitation of claim 1 of the Patent-in- Suit.
27As shown in the Claim Chart at page 5, the Accused Product’s “monoliths are positioned at respective vertices of squares having sides of substantially similar lengths,” which reflects the third limitation of claim 1 of the Patent-in-Suit.
28As shown in the Claim Chart at page 6, the Accused Product’s “dimples are semi- spherical and are positioned at respective centers of the squares,” which reflects the fourth limitation of claim 1 of the Patent-in-Suit.
29As shown in the Claim Chart at page 7, the Accused Product’s “centers of plurality of dimples are located on a plane that defines a floor of the working end,” which reflects the fifth limitation of claim 1 of the Patent-in-Suit.
COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
30As shown in the Claim Chart at page 8, the Accused Product’s “working end further comprises a plurality of apertures surrounding the at least one of the monoliths,” which reflects the sixth limitation of claim 1 of the Patent-in-Suit.
31The cease-and-desist letter reiterated KISS’s demand that Firstline take steps to stop the manufacture, sale and/or distribution of the Accused Product and attempted to resolve the dispute without litigation. See Exhibit 5.
32Nonetheless, on April 22, 2025, Firstline, through counsel, replied by letter that there is no infringement and considered the matter resolved. In other words, Firstline refused to comply with KISS’s demands to, inter alia, stop the manufacturing, selling and/or distributing the Accused Product. See Exhibit 6.
33On November 21, 2025, KISS’s undersigned counsel sent Firstline, through counsel, a third cease-and-desist letter demanding, again, that Firstline: (i) cease its unauthorized infringement of the ‘645 Patent, including immediately ceasing its manufacture, use, sale or offer to sell the Accused Product; (ii) remove and/or disable any online marketing, points of sale, or any other website content controlled by Firstline or its distributors/retailers that are directed to the Accused Product; (iii) destroy or discard any inventory of the Accused Product; and (iv) provide written confirmation of Firstline’s compliance with the foregoing. See Exhibit 7. The letter also enclosed a draft of this Complaint and stated that KISS planned to commence this action if Firstline failed to comply and/or the parties failed to reach a resolution.
34Firstline replied by letter dated November 28, 2025, and refused to comply. See Exhibit 8. Thereafter, the parties engaged in discussions in an attempt to reach an amicable resolution, but those efforts were unsuccessful, and Firstline continues to infringe the ‘645 Patent.
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Public U.S. federal court record (district court docket 73105103, document 1). Source via the RECAP Archive (Free Law Project). The same record is available from PACER. Informational only — not legal advice.