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| July 7, 2008 |
| Announcement |
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| KENWOOD wins final trial in lawsuit regarding design patent rights infringement in China |
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KENWOOD Corporation (President and CEO: Kazuo Shiohata; Head Office: Hachioji, Tokyo) hereby notifies you that the Company has won the final trial in the two lawsuits regarding registered design patent rights infringement. These lawsuits were filed with the Intermediate People’s Court in Shenzhen against ABELL Industries.CO.,LTD (hereinafter “ABELL”) in Shenzhen, China.
In November 2005, KENWOOD determined that TH-378 and TH-307F, which were manufactured and sold by ABELL, had infringed the design patent rights of its wireless radio equipment TK-278/378 and TK-2160/3160. We filed a complaint to the Intermediate People’s Court in Shenzhen, requesting that manufacturing and sale of the counterfeit products be stopped and asking for a compensation payment in the amount of RMB600,000 (equivalent to about USD88,000*) in total of the above two cases.
In the first trial held in July 2006, the court handed down a sentence totally in favor of KENWOOD and ordered ABELL and its representative to pay a fine in the aggregate sum of RMB90,000 (equivalent to about USD13,200*).
Thereafter, ABELL appealed the case to the High People’s Court in Guangzhou and the court dismissed the appeal, declaring “support for the first trial's ruling” in April 2008, ruling definitively in favor of KENWOOD.
In line with this judgment, the court delivered a sentence requiring ABELL to stop manufacturing and sale of the counterfeit products, to destroy the counterfeit products, and to post apologies on magazines and on the company’s website, in addition to asking for the afore-mentioned compensation payment.
KENWOOD will hereafter make an all-out effort to ensure that the court’s ruling is executed and that the penalty is summarily carried out.
KENWOOD is taking a firm stance in its confrontation of companies that produce counterfeit or imitation goods, by identifying them and accusation to the authority of the government 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 eliminate infringement more strongly against these illicit companies and imitation product manufacturers, based on our intellectual property rights.
* 1USD = 6.82RMB |
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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:
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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