ADF COO Gary Stein had this to say about Covington's copyright for Maxwell design: (It should be noted that the Court has not yet ruled on the matter of infringement.)

''Back in 2002, Covington Industries filed a copyright lawsuit against American Decorative Fabrics in federal court in New York, alleging that a plaid design which ADF was in the process of introducing infringed Covington's ''Maxwell'' plaid design. Although ADF voluntarily agreed to refrain from moving forward with its new plaid pattern while the lawsuit was pending, it has been actively defending the case because it strongly believes that companies should not be permitted to monopolize a common plaid design. If companies are able to claim exclusive rights in basic stripe designs and the like, there is likely to be an anti-competitive effect that will damage the industry as a whole.

''Last month, the Court issued a decision finding that Covington's design is subject to copyright protection. This decision represents a preliminary stage in the litigation, and ADF remains committed to challenging what it considers to be Covington's overreaching claims. The case will now proceed toward trial on the issue of whether ADF's design is substantially similar to Covington's design. In addition, ADF continues to believe that the ''Maxwell'' design lacks sufficient originality to qualify for copyright protection, and it ultimately intends to appeal the district court's ruling to the contrary should the final decision in the case favor Covington.''