Knoxville pet product company PetSafe sues PAWS competitor

Radio Systems Corp., the pet products company founded by Randy Boyd in Knoxville more than 30 years ago, is suing a competitor in U.S. District Court.

The complaint filed in November alleges unfair competition and false advertising by Texas-based Protect Animals With Satellites, which manufactures the Halo Collar.

Boyd, president of the University of Tennessee System, founded the Radio Fence Corporation in Knoxville in 1991 and changed its name the following year to include products like bark collars and remote trainers.

Boyd sold Radio Systems Corp. in June 2020 to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, an international private investment firm, but continues to serve on the board of directors. Radio Systems remains headquartered in Knoxville and produces over 4,600 pet products under brand names such as Invisible Fence, PetSafe and SportDOG.

What does Radio Systems Corp. suit about PetSafe competitor allege?

Both Radio Systems Corp. and PAWS offer GPS-based pet containment systems that use a GPS receiver collar designed to keep a dog inside a perimeter defined using a mobile app, the complaint states. The complaint alleges PAWS unlawfully advertises its Halo Collar containment system by using false and misleading statements, including a recent advertisement boasting that the newest Halo Collar is the most accurate GPS-based system on the market.

An independent firm recently performed field testing on four different GPS pet containment systems, including the Halo Collar 3 and PetSafe's Guardian GPS Pet Fence, according to a memorandum filed by Radio Systems. “Halo’s product was the least accurate of the systems tested. The Halo Collar 3 was also the least accurate GPS system in (an) in-house comparative testing of boundary accuracy.”

These fraudulent claims divert sales away from Radio Systems Corp. to capture market share and profits, the complaint alleges. The complaint goes further, saying the PAWS product's poor performance causes customers to become “extremely dissatisfied and distrustful” of GPS-based pet containment systems, poisoning the well for all such systems in general and the Guardian GPS Pet Fence in particular.

PAWS has until Jan. 12 to file a response to the complaint, court records state. No hearing dates have been set.

Liz Kellar is a Tennessee Connect reporter. Email liz.kellar@knoxnews.com. 

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