ACID Legal Affiliate, BRIFFA, has has a good result in a lookalike dispute between Gleener Marketing Inc and John Lewis!

Canada-based Gleener Marketing Inc is the creator of innovative, high-quality, fabric care solutions and recently discovered that high street retailer John Lewis was selling a two-in-one fabric brush and lint remover which was near-identical in appearance to its “Ultimate Fuzz Remover”.

John Lewis’s UK sales offer was a “Multi Head Lint Remover” which, although nearly visually identical to the “Ultimate Fuzz Remover”, was manufactured in China and the materials used were not of the same quality as used in Gleener’s products.

Gleener instructed ACID Legal Affiliate Margaret Briffa of Briffa to enforce the community registered design rights it had in the “Ultimate Fuzz Remover”. A cease and desist letter was sent to John Lewis which set out Gleener’s legal rights and the basis on which an infringement claim could be brought.

Despite not admitting liability, John Lewis agreed to enter into undertakings to immediately cease and desist from importing, advertising for sale and making sales of the “Multi Head Lint Remover”, as well as to provide a schedule of the quantities of the product sold, sale price and overall profit margin. It was further agreed that the remaining units of the infringing product that John Lewis held in its possession would be delivered to Gleener, at John Lewis’ sole cost. John Lewis also arranged for payment of Gleener’s legal fees arising from the matter.

IP specialist Margaret Briffa said:

“We are very pleased to assist Gleener in enforcing its intellectual property (IP) rights. This serves to reinforce that Gleener takes a proactive stance in enforcing its IP against companies and individuals of any size, and demonstrates the benefits of having registered design protection. Without being able to rely on community registered design rights, it may be more difficult to prevent others from selling products.”

ACID’s CEO Dids Macdonald said:

“This just demonstrates the effectiveness of a “Cease & Desist” letter which is a cost and time effective means of handling IP disputes with excellent results that can be achieved without going to a Court hearing and Margaret Briffa is right – register to protect!”