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| November 12, 2007 |
| Announcement |
KENWOOD wins all four cases against Chinese companies over
infringement of its trademarks, copyrights, and design patents |
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KENWOOD Corporation (President and CEO: Kazuo Shiohata; Head Office: Hachioji, Tokyo; hereinafter referred to as ”KENWOOD“) has won all four lawsuits in the higher courts in China against three Chinese companies−Fujian Top Way Intelligent Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (”Fujian Top Way“), Fuqing Rongwei Communications Co., Ltd. (”Fuqing Rongwei“) and Beijing Yichangyuan High Technology Co., Ltd. (”Beijing Yichangyuan“). The Beijing High People’s Court and Fujian High People’s Court ordered them to pay a total 4.3 million yuan (about 66.65 million yen) in damages to KENWOOD.
KENWOOD had earlier filed lawsuits with the Beijing First Intermediate People’s Court in China against the three companies for 1) trademark infringement and violation of the Act Against Unfair Competition; 2) copyright infringement; and 3) design patent infringement of wireless radio equipment. KENWOOD won all three lawsuits (as reported in our April 18 news release). In reaction to this, the Chinese companies appealed to the Beijing High People’s Court, but the court rejected the appeals and upheld the lower court’s decision.
Addition to the above, KENWOOD also filed a lawsuit with the Intermediate People's Court of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, against Fujian Top Way over 4) copyright violation, demanding that the company stop copying and distributing software over the internet for setting the frequency of KENWOOD's wireless radio equipment. After the lower court ruled in favor of KENWOOD in the lawsuit against Fujian Top Way for copyright infringement, the Chinese company filed an appeal to the Fujian High People's Court. But the appeal's court also dismissed the case and upheld the lower court's decision.
With the final decisions of the appeals courts, KENWOOD has won all four lawsuits relating to the infringements of Fujian Top Way, Fuqing Rongwei and Beijing Yichangyuan.
The courts ordered the three companies to pay damages; stop manufacturing and selling copies of KENWOOD products; stop copying and distributing KENWOOD software; and issue public apologies in magazines and on their websites.
KENWOOD will keep a close eye on whether the Chinese companies are abiding by the court's decision about the penalties.
KENWOOD is taking a firm stance in confronting companies that produce counterfeit or imitation goods, by identifying them and accusing them in front of government authorities or filing lawsuits. We will retain our basic stance of protecting consumers and the interest of the Company across the world, and continue to promote activities to stop infringements of our rights more strongly against these illicit companies and imitation product manufacturers, based on our intellectual property rights. |
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| KENWOOD Group is "Reaching out to discover, inspire and enhance the enjoyment of life" as part of its bold, new vision for the future. As a leader in the field of "Mobile & Home Multimedia Systems", KENWOOD is comprised of three businesses (Car Electronics, Communications Equipment and Home Electronics), 11 domestic and 25 overseas subsidiaries around the world. |
| For inquiries regarding this article, please contact; |
For news / publication : Hirofumi Namiki, Public & Investor Relations Office, Corporate Relations Division, KENWOOD Corporation
TEL: +81 42 (646) 6724 FAX: +81 42 (646) 1440 E-mail: pr.qa@kenwood.co.jp |
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