Hesco wins trademark infringement case
Above:
An image from the genuine Hesco website.
Courtesy Hesco
Following the success of last year's win in a complaint to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, concerning the unlawful registration of domain names, the Hesco legal team have secured a triumphant win against the same company for trademark infringement.
In March 2014, Qiao Shi were ordered to transfer hesco.org and hescobastion.org to Hesco as the judge decided that the websites were a clear and blatant example of using the internet to pirate goods and exploit the international reputation Hesco have established.
Subsequently these domains were transferred, however Qiao Shi continued to unlawfully use the trademarks HESCO, MIL and CONCERTAINER on numerous websites.
The judge at first instance decided in favour of Hesco, in respect of all three trademarks, and Qiao Shi appealed. The appeal failed and Qiao Shi has been ordered to no longer use these trademarks to promote their products and remove all references from the websites.
Andrew Taylor, General Counsel of the Hesco Group, said: "Hesco has an unrivalled global reputation, and its trademark is registered across the world. Like many market leaders we have experienced copycats seeking to exploit our reputation by selling unauthorised products under our internationally established brand and this successful judgment is an important step in stopping infringers seeking to unlawfully use our trademarks."
Genuine HESCO products undergo rigorous certified testing procedures, ensuring each component is above and beyond the required standards; from laboratory tests to real scenario military trials, Hesco is proud of the quality of its products.
Michael Hughes, Chief Executive Officer, Hesco Group: "From the very beginning, the Hesco ethos is to protect people and assets, whenever and wherever we are needed and we will continue to do this, including protecting our brand to avoid our customers purchasing imitation products instead of genuine HESCO products."
This judgment should send a clear message to other companies attempting to imitate and present themselves as genuine sellers of authentic HESCO product and that Hesco will continue to invest in protecting its established brand to ensure only genuine HESCO barriers are supplied throughout the world.