Filed on February 22, 2021, in the Southern District of New York before Judge Dale E. Ho, this infringement action pitted Molo Design, Ltd. — a design-focused studio best known for its honeycomb-structured softwall and softblock modular partition products — against Chanel S.A., Inc. and related Chanel entities, including Chanel SAS and Procédés Chenel Int’l. Molo asserted four US patents: US8561666B2, US7866366B2, US9797134B2, and US9689161B2, all directed at flexible textile-based architectural partition systems. The accused products were Chanel’s Window Décor Modules, which Molo alleged replicated the structural and aesthetic principles protected by its patent portfolio.

After 1,383 days of litigation — spanning pleadings, likely claim construction proceedings, and extensive motion practice — the parties filed a Joint Stipulation of Dismissal on December 5, 2024. The court granted the stipulation the same day, dismissing all claims and counterclaims with prejudice. The with-prejudice designation is legally significant: it bars Molo from re-filing the same infringement claims against Chanel based on the same patents and accused products, functioning as a final adjudication on the merits for res judicata purposes. Each party bears its own legal costs, suggesting a negotiated resolution rather than a clear capitulation by either side.

A dismissal arriving nearly four years into litigation — without a publicly reported trial verdict or summary judgment ruling — is consistent with a confidential settlement reached shortly before or during trial preparation, though the public record does not confirm settlement terms. The mutual with-prejudice structure, combined with the absence of any fee award, suggests the parties reached commercial terms that made continued litigation uneconomical for both sides. What remains unknown is whether any licensing arrangement, design modification commitment by Chanel, or financial consideration formed part of the resolution, as such terms would not appear in the court docket.