The New York Times recently ran article focusing on couch style and quality. The article, written by Steven Kurtz, may be found here. Kurtz does a superb job of explaining the of what's "under the hood" on a couch and what separates a $13,000 sofa from $599 couch.

Included is a great graphic on sofa construction. While Kurtz doesn't expressly address legal issues, the article's discussion of the work and effort put into high-end sofas explains why high-end manufacturers protect their product. The protection may take the form of design patents as well as policing the marketplace for any comparative advertising that misleads the consumer.