In May of this year INVISTA announced it had purchased Cone Denim’s dual core patent portfolio. The patent estate covers a broad variety of dual core yarns, fabrics, and garments made from those fabrics, which are sold in the US, China, and most recently, Europe. Since the purchase, INVISTA has been meeting individually with its denim customers and providing selected weavers with licenses to practice the technology. One of the requirements for granting of a license is that the mills agree to use branded INVISTA products such as LYCRA® and LYCRA® T400® fibres in their dual core fabrics.
“We look forward to working with our licensees to expand the LYCRA® dualFX® fabric business,” said Jean Hegedus, Global Director for INVISTA’s Denim and Wovens Segment. INVISTA was a pioneer in the development of dual core technology with its LYCRA® dualFX® fabric concept, first introduced commercially in 2010. LYCRA® dualFX® technology encompasses stretch fabrics made with two stretch fibres – LYCRA® and LYCRA® T400® fibres – in a single yarn.
INVISTA has compiled a licensed mill resource list for dual core fabrics which is being shared with denim brands and retailers. Only mills on the list are licensed to practice the INVISTA technologies. The patents apply to yarns, fabrics, or garments made or sold in the countries where the patent is granted,” said Hegedus. “So, for example, if a fabric is made in India, but sold into the US or Europe, it would be covered under the new INVISTA patents.”
In addition to the recently acquired patents, INVISTA also has a broad array of other patents related to fabrics made with dual core technology. One of those patents is granted in India and several others are pending. With leading brands including LYCRA®, COOLMAX®, CORDURA®, STAINMASTER® and ANTRON®, INVISTA is one of the world’s largest integrated producers of chemical intermediates, polymers and fibres. The company’s advantaged technologies for nylon, spandex and polyester are used to produce clothing, carpet, car parts and countless other everyday products. Headquartered in the United States, INVISTA operates in more than 20 countries and has about 10,000 employees
