07 February 2012
Cliff Electronics wins counterfeiting court case
A UK manufacturer of audio and power connectors has won a long running court case to protect its trademark and products sold in the US from counterfeiting.
In 2008, Redhill based Cliff Electronics discovered that one of its branded products had been returned with a complaint that it had not manufactured by an authorised Cliff company or any Cliff production facility. Cliff UK products are mainly used in professional and high quality equipment. The company launched an investigation and discovered that the product in question had been cloned by Cliff Hong Kong and marketed by Cliff Electronic Components – Cliff UK's official US distributor at that time. As a result, Cliff UK changed the way it distributed in the US and formed its current US distributor Cliff Inc.
As the investigation continued, Cliff UK discovered more cloned products being sold under the Cliff brand name, as well as counterfeit drawings that were being used to give a false impression of quality. The offending companies were soon tracked down, despite having changed their names and several years of legal proceedings in the US began.
Today's judgement was in the favour of Cliff Electronics on all points and the company is now awaiting the ruling on injunctive relief, damages and penalties to be awarded against Cliff Electronic Components and its president, Andrew Brunt. The judge ruled that Brunt is personally liable for all damages to Cliff UK.
John Hall, general manager of Cliff UK, said: "Not only has Cliff lost substantial direct sales in the USA but there has been much confusion caused by misuse of the Cliff brand in the USA, Europe and Asia."
Cliff UK is continuing to pursue all other companies and individuals involved.
Author
Chris Shaw
Supporting Information
Websites
http://www.cliffuk.co.uk
Companies
Findlay Media Ltd
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