North Shore-based Matthews International Corp. — known for its caskets, bronze plaques and rapid growth — is selling a product that taps into America’s growing use of cremation in its burial practices.

Specifically, Matthews is selling something called the “cremation fold-down rental insert” — a disposable insert that slides into a wood or metal casket shell.

The body of the deceased lies on top of the disposable insert. The insert — usually made of cardboard — can be cremated with the body, while the shell looks like a traditional casket and can be reused.

The problem is that a company called Vandor Corp., based in Richmond, Ind., claims that by selling the product, Matthews is infringing on two patents that belongs to it — U.S. Patent No. 9,649,240 and 8,375,535 — and has been doing so since at least July 2015.

“Vandor has suffered and will continue to suffer irreparable injury and damages in an amount not yet determined for which Vandor is entitled to relief,” stated the lawsuit filed last year in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana.

The two companies have been in a turf war for years over who has the right to manufacture and sell certain patented products that funeral homes are offering to families who choose cremation.

Matthews denies that Vandor’s claims have any merit.

The North Shore company said in a prepared statement that Matthews exercised its right to request a separate administrative proceeding within the Patent Office to overturn the patents that Vandor had been granted. In December 2018, Matthews asked for an administrative hearing outside of court to argue that Vandor should not have been granted the patents in the first place.

On March 29, the Patent Office Board declined to review the matter at all, finding that “the information presented [by Matthews] does not show that there is a reasonable likelihood that Matthews would prevail in showing the unpatentability of any challenged claim.” 

A Matthews representative said last week that “Matthews is considering its options in response to the recent Patent Office Board notification.” 

Neither Vandor’s company representatives nor its lawyers responded to requests for comment.

The hostilities have been going on for some time. Federal court records show Vandor, which does business under the name Starmark Funeral Products, initially sued Matthews in May 2015 in the same court jurisdiction for infringing on a third patented product — U.S. Patent 8,104,151 — called the “Lightweight Casket Having Foldable Features.” 

The outcome of that case is not clear, but Matthews also made an unsuccessful attempt to challenge that one before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The board declined to rule in favor of Matthews’ petition to overturn the “151 patent.”

Matthews then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, but in March 2018 the Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision.

Although the patents are tied up in litigation, the products remain popular items for funeral directors trying to keep costs down for customers who need affordable options. One of the most useful is the lightweight folding casket.

“I have one here right now,” said Frank Perman, owner of Perman Funeral Home in Shaler. “It comes folded and the great thing about it is it ships flat. With a casket, you ship mostly air. This is so much more efficient.

“It’s an inexpensive alternative for families who don’t have the means for an expensive funeral,” he said. “That’s exactly why this was invented.”

The idea behind the Lightweight Casket Having Foldable Features is that wood and metal-based caskets can be expensive, but paper-based containers are a viable low-cost option. Cremation caskets range in price from about $200 to $6,000, while a traditional casket can cost between $800 and $8,650.

To rent a shell casket and purchase the replaceable insert that Vandor has patented for cremations will cost families about $995 total.

The corrugated paper caskets can be designed with ornamentation that is close to what customers would get for a more expensive wood or metal product and is suitable for presentation at a viewing or funeral.

Both Matthews and Vandor are leaders in the funeral industry.

Matthews, publicly traded under the ticker symbol MATW, is the second-largest U.S. maker of caskets, behind the Batesville unit of Hillenbrand Inc. Together, Matthews and Batesville have at least 70 percent of the U.S. casket market, according to the company.

Vandor’s Starmark Funeral Supply division manufactures hundreds of alternative containers and rental inserts daily. Starmark has been reported to be the nation’s highest volume manufacturer of rental casket inserts.   

The dynamics have changed in a big way for the funeral and burial industry over the past decade as more Americans have opted for cremation instead of burial. The National Funeral Directors Association reported that 2016 was the first year that the majority of all funerals were cremations. 

The shift has been attributed to a number of factors.

Cremations are less expensive than burials. A funeral can easily exceed $10,000. Cremations average about $3,725, according to US Funerals Online. More religions have become tolerant of cremations, and more families have moved away from traditional burial ceremony.

Vandor also happens to to be the manufacturer of the Sure-Lock cremation urn, which is the highest volume urn sold in the country.

Tim Grant: tgrant@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1591.

First Published: April 8, 2019, 11:00 a.m.