armasuisse combats brand piracy in China
The market entry of the official licence holder swiss brands AG with SWISS MILITARY DESIGN drinking bottles and outdoor clothing and footwear in China is having undesirable preliminary effects. An extensive network of unauthorised licensees and distributors has entered the market, offering SWISS MILITARY products on various online platforms and in various department stores. These derive their authorisation from counterfeit certificates with armasuisse as the licensor or swiss brands AG as the authorised sub-licensee.
The (sub-) licensees licensed by armasuisse according to the counterfeit certificates are expressly not authorized. This applies in particular to the Indian company Promoshirt SM Private Limited, based in New Delhi, against which armasuisse is conducting a lawsuit in India and has obtained a positive judgment in the court of first instance. The South Korean company Core International Co., Ltd. is also not authorized. There is a large number of unauthorized brand users, including the company Fujian Dinghui Sports Technology Co., Ltd., which derives its authorization from licenses that were untruthful granted by Promoshirt / Core International and Swiss Military (China) Brand Operations Col., Ltd. in Hong Kong. The company Zhongrui Hongye (Beijing) Brand Management Col, Ltd. (ZHBM) is also expressly not authorized.
armasuisse has sent out a large number of warning letters, thereby clearing the way for swiss brands AG on online platforms. Further warning letters will be sent. Lawsuits and complaints against the unauthorised trademark users are being prepared before the Chinese criminal and competition authorities and civil court proceedings are being prepared or are already pending in some cases.