T. Dosho Shifferaw, Inventor of Well-Known Fitness Equipment, Files Infringement Suit

    ALBANY, CA, March 06, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- T. Dosho Shifferaw, a leading inventor of fitness equipment, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Emson USA of New York, E. Mishan & Sons, Inc. of New York, Academy Sports & Outdoors of Texas and Amazon.com of Delaware in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Marshall Division on February 19, 2009. Case number 2:09-cv-00054.

T. Dosho Shifferaw, Founder/President & CEO of Dosho Design, Inc., and law firms Moore Landrey of Austin, TX and Rhodes & Vela of San Antonio, TX, claim the recently introduced abdominal product called Ab Rocket infringes on two patents, both exclusively licensed to Shifferaw. After 25 years of inventing and manufacturing fitness equipment, including the renowned Bowflex, Shifferaw is no stranger to the legalities of patent regulations. He currently holds 20 worldwide patents and five pending patents.

Shifferaw's patented technology, coined the "Lift-Assist System", consists of six Lift-Assist Powerbands making the full range of ab exercises, including the difficult reverse crunch, attainable by anyone. Over time, the user can reduce the amount of Powerbands as the abs and surrounding core muscles get stronger. The Lift-Assist System was originally featured on Shifferaw's Kathy Smith Ab-Lifter Plus, marketed exclusively by Dosho Design in 2002. The System is now a component of Shifferaw's latest home gym, Dosho Gym 5000, and is currently being featured in TV commercials and on the company eCommerce site.

The fitness machine in question, Ab Rocket, is presently being marketed in TV commercials and infomercials, on an eCommerce site and on Amazon.com. The Ab Rocket advertises that it "includes three sets of springs, or resistance cylinders, to be used for different levels of resistance for building and toning abdominal muscles". "Every time I see the commercial for the Ab Rocket it's like a kick in the stomach," says Shifferaw. "This country was built on the creative ideas and inventions of imaginative people and we need to maintain that tradition, now more than ever. This type of blatant infringement is unfortunate because it just discourages individuals from being inventive and entrepreneurial."

Shifferaw's technology is protected by patent numbers 7,137,933 and 6,716,144, which were issued by the United States Patent & Trademark Office on November 21, 2006 and April 6, 2004. Shifferaw says he's ready to go to any length to protect his intellectual property and he's confident that justice will prevail.

About Dosho Design, Inc.
Based in Northern California, Dosho Design, Inc. was founded in 2000 by T. Dosho Shifferaw, the founder of Bowflex, Inc. and inventor of the revolutionary Bowflex, one of the most popular and highly rated strength training systems ever built. Dosho Design, Inc. offers fitness products for personal conditioning, muscle toning, strength training, stretching and aerobics for use at home and in fitness clubs. Products are marketed through television commercials and infomercials, online and through select retail channels. For more information about Shifferaw and his company Dosho Design, Inc. please visit www.dosho.com

# # #