KYOCERA MITA obtains injunction for delivery up of counterfeit toner cassettes against important agent – central shipping limited
Counterfeit toner cassettes valued at over half a million Euros delivered up following Irish court decision
09 December 2010 - KYOCERA MITA Europe has obtained an injunction against a company which acted as the import agent for counterfeit toner cassettes which had been imported into Ireland by one of its customers. Counterfeit KYOCERA MITA toner cassettes valued at a minimum of half a million Euros have subsequently been handed over to KYOCERA MITA. The import agent was also ordered to pay KYOCERA MITA’s legal costs. |
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The case comes at the end of an in-depth investigation which began when counterfeit toner cassettes were offered for sale to a Dublin-based KYOCERA MITA business partner who alerted KYOCERA MITA to the situation. Earlier this year ten sample toner cassettes were procured and sent to KYOCERA MITA’s European laboratory for testing. Following the application of KYOCERA MITA’s anti-counterfeit tests it was clear that the products were not genuine. When it became evident that the import agent was not going to relinquish the counterfeit toner containers voluntarily, KYOCERA MITA Europe immediately applied for an injunction for the goods to be delivered up.
Jun Okumura, General Manager of KYOCERA MITA (UK) Ltd commented: “We are pleased to have been granted the injunction. The counterfeit production of toner cassettes is an issue that we treat with the utmost seriousness at KYOCERA MITA. This result sends out a strong message that we will not tolerate trade in counterfeit KYOCERA MITA products, and will rigorously pursue all parties in the distribution chain to protect our intellectual property rights. We see this as an important part of our role of safeguarding the revenues of our channel partners who could otherwise see unfair and unlawful competition from sales of counterfeit products.”
Identifying counterfeit toner cassettes can be difficult because the packaging often very closely resembles the genuine product. To deal with this problem, KYOCERA MITA has incorporated special technology features to make it easier to identify counterfeit toner cassettes. One example is the KYOCERA MITA hologrammatic trustgram on the toner cassettes.
In order to avoid the risk of purchasing counterfeit products KYOCERA MITA recommends that all products are purchased from certified KYOCERA MITA business partners.
Customers who are concerned at any time that they may have purchased or been offered counterfeit KYOCERA MITA products should contact the company via:
KYOCERA MITA is one of the world's leading office document solutions companies. Its product range consists of ECOSYS printers, reliable multifunctional systems and wide format devices, completed by supplies, efficient document solutions and comprehensive services. KYOCERA MITA provides innovative products, built on a foundation of long-life components, allowing it to offer its customers low total cost of ownership and high efficiency in any workplace. For further information, visit: www.kyoceramita-europe.com
KYOCERA MITA Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of KYOCERA Corporation, which marked its 50th anniversary in 2009. Ranked no. 418 on Forbes magazine’s 2009 “Global 2000” listing of the world’s largest publicly traded companies, KYOCERA Corporation is a leading manufacturer of high-tech ceramics, electronic components, solar cells and electronic office equipment. KYOCERA Corporation’s long-term growth strategy is to focus on business that supports telecommunications, information processing, environmental protection and the preservation of quality of life.