GoClips and Z Keepers Sue Tools for the Trade Over Alleged Sink Clamp Knockoffs on a Patent and the GoClips Trademark.

The complaint

The case is GoClips LLC and Z Keepers LLC v. Tools for the Trade, LLC, No. 2:26-cv-06291-SPL (D. Ariz.), filed September 2, 2026 with a jury demand. Both plaintiffs are Florida limited liability companies: Z Keepers manufactures GoClips sink anchors, which are used to mount undermount sinks to stone countertops, and GoClips distributes them. Tools for the Trade is an Arizona company that the complaint describes as a maker and distributor of countertop fabrication and installation tools.

What the patent covers

U.S. Patent 9,828,754, titled Sink clamp and methods, issued November 28, 2017 from an application filed December 10, 2014. Claim 1 covers an undercounter sink attachment system: a sink sized to fit an opening in a countertop that has a vertical slot in its underside beside the sink, and a clamping device with a clamp body whose end inserts upward into the slot and a clamping spring, fastened to the body offset from that end, whose upwardly angled deflectable portion bears on the sink's edge to push the sink up against the countertop. Claim 11 covers the clamping device itself and claim 21 a method of installing a sink. The complaint says the patent is assigned to Z Keepers and that GoClips holds marketing, sale, and distribution rights.

The allegations

The plaintiffs allege that Tools for the Trade imports and sells sink clips it calls Sun Clips, made in China, that are substantially the same as GoClips products and embody each claim of the '754 patent, with a claim chart attached as Exhibit G. They allege that in April 2024 Tools for the Trade listed Sun Clips as GoClips on an invoice, that after a cease-and-desist letter it promised to stop and became a reseller of genuine GoClips products, and that it then kept delivering Sun Clips to customers who ordered through listings using the GoClips mark, the "5 second anchors" slogan, and the plaintiffs' installation images and video.

The complaint has three counts: willful infringement of the '754 patent; trademark and trade dress infringement under 15 U.S.C. 1114, based on the GoClips mark, Registration No. 4,739,200, which the USPTO record shows registered May 19, 2015 to Z Keepers and was renewed in 2024 and which the plaintiffs say is incontestable; and false designation of origin under 15 U.S.C. 1125(a). The prayer asks for patent damages enhanced for willfulness, trademark damages and treble damages for counterfeiting, preliminary and permanent injunctions, destruction of the accused products, and attorneys' fees.

What to watch next

The case is assigned to Judge Steven P. Logan (ECF No. 3). The court entered an order setting deadlines on October 21, 2026 (ECF No. 15). On October 22, the docket shows an entry titled dismiss case (ECF No. 16), an answer to the complaint (ECF No. 17), and a response to an order to show cause (ECF No. 18); a notice of deficiency about a disclosure statement and a supplemental request for patent and trademark information followed on October 23 (ECF Nos. 19 and 20). Watch for briefing and rulings on the October 22 filings.