Models walk the runway wearing Yummie Tummie at a fashion show in New York in 2010.

Most reality-TV housewives stick to hair-pulling. But Heather Thomson of the Real Housewives of New York City delivered a legal smackdown to shapewear company Spanx, claiming in a suit filed last week in U.S. district court in New York that its slimming tank tops are copies of designs she patented and sells under her Yummie Tummie brand.

The suit filed by Times Three Clothier LLC, the company Thomson founded to sell her shapewear, asks for sales injunctions against the garments and unspecified damages, including punitive damages.

In January, Times Three sent a cease-and-desist letter to Spanx over the tank tops. Privately held Spanx, whose founder Sara Blakely was dubbed “the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire” by Forbes last year, responded last month by filing documents in federal court in Atlanta requesting a judicial declaration that Spanx was not infringing on Yummie Tummie designs and asking Thomson’s company to pay its legal fees.

“Anyone can make a claim, but it doesn’t mean it has merit,” Spanx said then in a statement that referred to “countless imitators” of its products. “Spanx has not infringed on any valid patent, and we will continue to make fabulous products for our loyal fans."

In the suit filed Tuesday, Times Three said, “Defendant Spanx by Sara Blakely intends to continue its willful and intentional infringement of Yummie Tummie’s design patents asserted herein.” Spanx did not respond to a request for comment.

Thomson told TODAY last month she was “in shock and appalled” by Spanx’s response, although this isn’t the first time she’s taken other garment producers in court. In 2011, Thomson got a $6.75 million settlement in a patent-infringement suit filed against underwear giant Maidenform. That year, it also sued the American subsidiary of manufacturer Li & Fung Group for patent infringement, which Women’s Wear Daily reported was settled for an undisclosed amount.

“I hope she’s ready for war,” Thomson told Women’s Wear Daily last month in reference to Blakely.

So far, it’s shaping up to be quite the battle of the bulge.

UPDATED, 12:48 p.m. EDT: There’s a battle shaping up in women’s undergarments. And lest you think that’s a punch line, at stake in this patent dispute is a billion-dollar industry aimed at fighting the muffin top.

Spanx, a company that’s so successful it made founder Sara Blakely the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world, filed suit March 5 against "Real Housewife of New York" Heather Thomson and her Yummie Tummie brand slimmers. The suit comes in response to a cease-and-desist letter from Thomson's attorneys on Jan. 18. The letter claims Spanx ripped off Thomson's patented three-panel design for slimming camisoles, according to the lawsuit against Times Three Clothier, LLC, which operates Yummie Tummie.

"They have copied my original idea which really was a game-changer for shapewear," Thomson told TODAY Wednesday.

In its lawsuit filed in Atlanta federal court, Spanx argues its tanks and camisoles have unspecified “significant differences” from Yummie Tummie’s design.

Since 2008 Yummie has been producing its patented three-panel Original Tank, made of cotton top and bottom panels with a slimming middle section. The Spanx items mentioned in the suit are the Top This Tank, the Top This Cami and a third, the QVC Total Taming Tank, which is no longer on sale.

Spanx issued a statement about the lawsuit on Wednesday, but declined to say when the items that are the focus of the suit first went on sale.

"Spanx designed our original shaping camisole in 2005 long before Yummie Tummie in 2008,” the statement reads. “Spanx has had countless imitators through the years. Anyone can make a claim, but it doesn’t mean it has merit. Spanx has not infringed on any valid patent, and we will continue to make fabulous products for our loyal fans."

Thomson told WWD that she first learned of the product this past November when she received an anonymous package containing the Spanx Total Taming Tank and a note saying it was on sale at QVC. "I immediately recognized it as my original Yummie Tummie tank,” Thomson told WWD. The unsigned note said Spanx was selling it at QVC. A spokeswoman for Thomson declined to comment further.

"I am still in shock and appalled at this whole situation," Thomson told TODAY.

A personal letter dated March 14 from Thomson to Blakely, posted to the Yummie website, said, “We brought this to your attention expecting you to stop. Instead you’ve chosen to sue us, no doubt thinking your massive company could intimidate ours. We have successfully enforced our design patents in the past and will continue to do so.”

“Sara, I truly expected more of you as a fellow entrepreneur,” the letter concludes.

Officials from Spanx were not immediately available to comment on the letter.

Adrian Wilson / Interior Photography Inc

Spanx opened its first standalone store Nov. 2 in Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va.

Spanx, the popular shapewear company that sells slimming undergarments, has opened its first standalone retail store — just in time for Thanksgiving. (Or should we say, Spanxgiving?)

The Atlanta-based company opened a retail location Nov. 2 in Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va. The first 100 shoppers received a free pair of hosiery, which normally ranges in price from $26 to $38.

“The Spanx store will be a place where everybody knows your name...and your bra size!,” said Spanx founder Sara Blakely in a written statement. Blakely, 41, was on the cover of Forbes magazine earlier this year after making the company's billionaires list. 

Previously, women could only buy Spanx online or at other retail stores such as Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus.

Shoppers at the new store now will be able to get in-person guidance from a member of the sales staff. The team has been trained by Spanx to fully understand the company’s various product lines. “They know which pieces to pair with outerwear garments,” Charlotte Bissell, public relations coordinator for Spanx, told TODAY Money.

Customers looking for some extra support can also call ahead to schedule a one-on-one consultation appointment. “Team members can talk with customers about issues they’ve had in the past and help them fix those,” Bissell said.

Spanx plans to open two more retail stores this year: one at the King of Prussia Mall near Philadelphia, opening Nov. 9, and a location at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J., opening Nov. 16.

Spanx has been working to eradicate the VPL (visible panty line) from society since it went into production in 2000. Oprah declared the original Spanx undergarment (which is essentially a pair of control-top panty hose, minus the hose) one of her favorite things that year, and the rest is history. Since then, the humorously named piece has been joined by the likes of the Bra-lellujah! and the Bod-A-Bing!, all of which can be found in the new retail store, along with activewear and even items for the guys.

With the new locations opening just before the holidays, Spanx will likely be providing the foundational support for a lot of  parties and events this season. So, what are the must-have holiday party items? Bissell predicts the company’s line of hosiery will be a popular one, as will the Bra-lelluljah!, which helps create a smooth back. But, she cautions, “Shapewear’s not a one-hit wonder. Depending on the outfit, you have different shapewear needs.”

Dana Macario is a Seattle-area writer who has been known to turn to shapewear to help tame her tummy from time to time.

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