Rights on patented knockoff products

[thunder786]

Earlier this year i purchased something, which after a few months i no longer required. Tried selling them in various places online but they got taken down claiming to be imported knockoffs of another patented product.

 

I reached out to the UK company i purchased from but they refused to acknowledge any patent issues, refused a refund and any assistance.

 

I then stated i'd escalate via my credit card and the company threatened legal action if the payment dispute was to be successful.

 

I've done my research and the product seems to be a knockoff and protected under patents, which means they cannot be resold. Been getting mixed responses from various people, some saying go via small claims court and others saying not much can be done.

 

Should i just accept the loss or would i likely win in small claims if i can prove using the patent numbers that the purchased item was a knockoff?

[dx100uk]

do you really think a company is going to take you to court if you do do a section 75 clawback with a known fake product they sold you.....love to be the judge on that case

[BankFodder]

And how about telling us what it is, which company sold it to you, what value are we talking about here?

How do you know that it's a knockoff?

[thunder786]

Bit reluctant to give the company name at the moment as i've already received a text message from someone asking for my email address so they can serve me documents regarding legal proceedings from their client. Text didn't include client name, product or anything else so blocked the number thinking it's phishing.

 

Item was adjustable weights for £439. I received notice from the patent holder regarding everything that was patented. Checked the patent numbers, saw pictures and everything looks virtually similar, plus the company didn't dispute my initial queries which is why i think they are a knockoff.

 

The issue i've had from Citizens advice and my credit card is that this can't be classed as fake (counterfeit) because they are branded differently and not trying to be sold as the patented product. There are loads of information online regarding counterfeit, but very little on knockoff products.

[BankFodder]

Well you should give the company name. There's nothing to worry about.

I can't remember where to look – but we had lots of firms which seem to make their money by identifying people who they suspect of using some infringing item or software and then they put the frighteners on them and get them to pay some money.

I'm sure somebody will come along and link us to some relevant threads on this forum.

It sounds to me as if this is what you are falling victim to and it's clearly already having its effect because you are frightened by it all.

Name the company, they won't get your address from us – because we don't even have it and even if we did, we wouldn't share it without a court order.

If you can name the company then we will stand a better chance of helping you out. As the company is chasing you for this money the same company which apparently owes the patent in the item that you have bought.

You are trying to make some distinction between counterfeit products and "knockoff products". What are you saying that the difference is?

[AndyOrch]

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/190-internet-piracy-claims-and-other-bounty-hunting-activities/

[BankFodder]

Blimey we even have a sub-forum for it! Who knew?

[The GodMother]

2 hours ago, BankFodder said:

Blimey we even have a sub-forum for it! Who knew?

LOL its been there a few years so l thought u might have noticed it. Tho l do know u can be a very busy person. 

 

3 hours ago, dx100uk said:

do you really think a company is going to take you to court if you do do a section 75 clawback with a known fake product they sold you.....love to be the judge on that case

I want front row seats please. 

[BankFodder]

It was me who set up the sub-forum!!!

[dx100uk]

" Bit reluctant to give the company name at the moment as i've already received a text message from someone asking for my email address so they can serve me documents regarding legal proceedings from their client. Text didn't include client name, product or anything else so blocked the number thinking it's phishing."

 

who from please 

don't be scared of all these muppets....

 

pm me the number if you are really that worried about a scam claim, bet we know them inside out the sender of that threat...

[Ethel Street]

What's puzzling me is why you, as the innocent purchaser of a counterfeit product, would have have any legal liability to the patent owner. Your post #4 above suggests that is what is happening. Surely the patent owner should be chasing the company who sold the weights to you?

 

It's not an area of law I have much expertise in but it's always been my understanding that it's the manufacturers and sellers of counterfeit goods who could be liable to the patent owner (because they are making a profit from their sale that ought to belong to the patent owner). That's why the previous cases I've seen reported are typically someone who has bought something that's counterfeit and is using it in their business, ie using it to help them make a profit. Not a consumer purchase. 

 

Whether you could legally re-sell it, as a one-off sale by a private individual, isn't clear although online sites are likely to have their own rules banning the listing of counterfeit items even by private sellers.

 

A quick search online found this site, which seems to be endorsed by government agencies and the police.

 

Counterfeit Goods - Get Safe Online

 

It says "Buying counterfeit goods, however, is not illegal, even if you do so knowingly." [NB that's advice about "goods", physical items, which is what you are asking about. The law about downloads of software, films, music, etc, is different]

[thunder786]

Thanks for all the responses, let me clarify a few things.

 

I'm not being chased by the patent holder, they've just stopped me reselling the item i purchased by reporting the advert listing. Backed the report up with the various patent numbers and detailed description of the patents that have been breached. I've had my advert taken down from eBay and Gumtree.

 

The company i purchased from Gymzo, are the ones who mentioned getting their 'criminal investigation team' (laughable) involved if i done credit card chargeback. They're unwilling to assist in providing original product description or images and just state i'm outside their 30 day return period.

 

My credit card company won't assist without original page screenshot, citizens advice saying i don't really have options and the original seller not assisting, i feel like small claims is the only option but unsure if i'd be successful.

 

The product i purchased was branded differently which is why i feel it is a knockoff rather than a counterfeit.

[dx100uk]

why does a credit card company need a original page screenshot? of what? the advert that lead you to be scammed into buying a counterfeit in the first place?

 

so Gizmo arent using a gofer the texts are from them?

[Ethel Street]

18 hours ago, thunder786 said:

...i've already received a text message from someone asking for my email address so they can serve me documents regarding legal proceedings from their client. Text didn't include client name, product or anything else so blocked the number thinking it's phishing.

I'm wondering whether that text is just one of the scam/phishing texts going around and has nothing at all to do with with your dispute with Gymzo? It's just coincidence it arrived at the same time as you were in discussion with Gymzo.

[thunder786]

On 28/06/2021 at 22:12, dx100uk said:

why does a credit card company need a original page screenshot? of what? the advert that lead you to be scammed into buying a counterfeit in the first place?

 

so Gizmo arent using a gofer the texts are from them?

 

That's what confused me as well from my credit card company. They essentially said that as long as the product was as described they cannot assist. They're not lawyers so don't get involved in patented disputes and it's up to me to prove that i was mis-sold.

 

On 29/06/2021 at 08:22, Ethel Street said:

I'm wondering whether that text is just one of the scam/phishing texts going around and has nothing at all to do with with your dispute with Gymzo? It's just coincidence it arrived at the same time as you were in discussion with Gymzo.

 

Some of the details of the text lead me to think that it was just a scare tactic, i cannot prove this either way. The wording of the message is just too coincidental to be random, and that i've never received anything similar previously.