The parties and the court

The case is Harbin Weixiang Toys Co., Ltd. d/b/a WeiXiang store v. Waters Industries, Inc., No. 1:26-cv-12052 (N.D. Ill.), filed September 30, 2026. The docket shows it assigned to Judge Elaine E. Bucklo, with Magistrate Judge Laura K. McNally designated. The plaintiff is a Chinese company based in Harbin that sells on Amazon under the storefront name WeiXiang store. The complaint alleges, on information and belief, that Waters is an Illinois corporation with its principal place of business in the district that owns the '035 patent by assignment.

The patent and the Amazon report

U.S. Patent 11,478,035, titled Lighted Headgear and Accessories Therefor, issued October 25, 2022. The complaint says it has one independent claim and five dependent claims and was assigned to Waters on August 5, 2023. It alleges that on or about September 11, 2026 Amazon notified the plaintiff that it had removed its lighted hats listing on a report, made under Waters's Panther Vision name, that the listing infringes the patent.

The counts

Count I seeks a declaratory judgment of noninfringement. The complaint says claim 1 requires a self-contained light module that slides in one direction to form a friction-fit engagement with the cap and in the opposite direction to come off, removably securable in two forward-facing orientations rotated 180 degrees, with a housing having opposite first and second cap-engaging walls. It alleges that the accused hats instead hold the module in an elastic rubber ring that surrounds the module's peripheral coupling surface, with no opposed walls engaging the hat. Count II seeks a declaratory judgment that claims 1 through 6 are invalid as obvious under 35 U.S.C. 103.

Relief sought

The plaintiff asks the court to preliminarily and permanently order Waters to withdraw every Amazon infringement complaint against the lighted hats under the patent and to file no more, to declare noninfringement and invalidity of claims 1 through 6, and to find the case exceptional under 35 U.S.C. 285 with fees and costs. It demands a jury.

What to watch next

The docket shows a motion for an extension of time to answer filed October 26, 2026 and an order on it entered October 27. Watch for Waters's answer, motion, or any counterclaim for infringement.