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Joseph Joseph Wins Important Battle in the Design Piracy War

By Rain Noe - April 10, 2012

in Design Business

Good news in the battle against design rip-offs: After a two-year struggle, Joseph Joseph has pulled off a landmark victory against a group of Chinese companies that went above and beyond your average levels of product design piracy.

A company called Ningbo John and five of its subsidiaries not only blatantly copied Joseph Joseph's Index Chopping Board, but went so far as to patent it in China, claiming they owned both the design and the brand name. The ballsy step was followed by Ningbo John then producing the knockoff and selling it around the world, earning millions of ill-gotten dollars.

"We've taken many Chinese companies to task over product infringement, but this was the first time they'd dared to register our design and brand name as their own," explained Managing Director Richard Joseph. "When we challenged them on it they actually threatened to sue us because the products were 'their' design! They claimed to customers that they owned the design registration and brand name and therefore could sell the copies, which is just a blatant lie."

Joseph Joseph brought the case to a Chinese court, who eventually ruled in Joseph Joseph's favor and revoked Ningbo John's patent. This is an extremely encouraging sign that the Chinese legal system is willing to address design piracy, and will hopefully have a ripple effect on illicit operations looking to make a quick yuan.

In the meantime the battles, of course, will continue. The company reports there are still "a long list of infringers" they need to target and pursue. "We're totally committed to fighting copies head on wherever they appear and are determined to win however long that takes," said Joseph. "This case also forcefully demonstrates the necessity of fighting to the bitter end: If you really care about your brand name and design you fight until you win."

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michael

12 years ago

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You can fight the Chinese - but you lose money in the ensuing legal battle... What I do is make a deal with them upfront...They pay all of my tooling costs ( so I don't have too ) in exchange I agree to give them license to sell as their own in the china domestic market and I get the rest of the world !!
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powers

12 years ago

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Well, Tim, maybe you should start a hamburger joint. Actually, you have a pretty catchy last name, you could just name your restaurant that. I hear bright colors like yellow and red are great for bringing in customers...
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Tim Mcdonalds

12 years ago

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Stupid. People can't design anything. anymore. With all these companies being a patent trolls.
Idea of the index chop board is nothing new. I still have the one from early 90s.
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