Cycling Champ Armstrong Illegally Peddling Dog Collar, Suit Says

Cycling champion Lance Armstrong's charitable foundation is infringing a patent for an inspirational dog collar, according to a lawsuit filed in Oklahoma federal court.

Plaintiff Chris Ohman says the Texas-based Lance Armstrong Foundation is selling collars that infringe the patent on dog collars he created to encourage donations to animal charities.

In September the Armstrong foundation sued Ohman and the Animal Charity Collar Group, alleging the company's "Barkstrong" dog collars infringe the foundation's popular "Livestrong" yellow bracelets. That suit is pending.

The Livestrong bracelets have raised more than $70 million for cancer research.

Now Ohman has fired back with his own infringement suit alleging the foundation and New Jersey-based Yellow Dog Designs Inc. are selling pet collars bearing the Livestrong emblem.

The collars willfully and deliberately infringe Ohman's patent, and their sale constitutes unfair competition under Oklahoma law, the suit says.

According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, Ohman owns a patent for a "pet collar with an embossed slogan for encouraging charitable contributions."

Ohman seeks unspecified damages.

Katherine McLane, the Armstrong foundation's communications director, said the charity does not comment on pending legal matters.

Armstrong gained fame for his dominance in cycling, with several world championship titles and seven Tour de France victories.

After surviving testicular cancer when diagnosed at age 25, he started the foundation, which runs a Web site as a resource for people living with cancer.

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