HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — July 17, 2017 — Microban® International Ltd. today announced Greenchem International Co. Ltd. wrongfully obtained the use of its AEGIS® Environmental Management Inc. — a subsidiary of Microban International — trademarks in Taiwan, while serving as a distributor of the Microban AEGIS® Product.
The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office of Ministry Economic Affairs of Taiwan declared that Greenchem International Co. Ltd. unlawfully continued to use the AEGIS brand in sales and marketing materials after Microban terminated its distributor agreement in 2013, and to this current day. The administrative action to cease use and return all AEGIS and AEGIS Microbe Shield® back to Microban was issued by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office of Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan.
“This is another important victory in trademark fraud for all global apparel and footwear supply chains. This type of behavior hurts the rightful owners of trademarks whether it be product components or the finished product itself,” said Lisa Owen, senior business director, global textiles for Microban. “There are vendors who claim to offer like or similar technology that does not meet regulatory requirements. In addition, these fraudulent products are often backed by poor product quality, testing and quality control practices that are provided to millions of end customers. These falsifications hurt the business of true trademark owners as well as many brand reputations for those who fall prey to this kind of misrepresentation.”
Microban has always prided itself on the quality of its products, and continues to maintain the integrity of the brand. AEGIS comes from only one place and that is Microban and its’ authorized distributor network. During its distributorship with Microban, Greenchem International Co. Ltd. secured several fraudulent trademark registrations for the AEGIS trademarks in certain Asian territories — specifically China and Taiwan.
This is the second jurisdiction in key textile markets where Microban has recovered its marks from the Greenchem entities in Shanghai with action in China and Taiwan with action in Taipei.
Last year, the Putuo District Court order declared that Greenchem Fine Chemicals Ltd. unlawfully continued to use the AEGIS brand in sales and marketing materials after Microban terminated its distributor agreement in 2013, and throughout the investigation. During its distributorship with Microban, Greenchem Fine Chemicals Ltd. secured several fraudulent trademark registrations for the AEGIS trademarks in certain Asian territories. Greenchem Fine Chemicals Ltd. was ordered to immediately discontinue its use of the AEGIS trademark registrations.
Taiwan’s Greenchem International Co., Ltd. and Shanghai’s Greenchem Fine Chemicals Ltd. are no longer authorized distributors of AEGIS products, and are not permitted to sell any products produced by AEGIS Environmental Management, Inc. or Microban Products International. Microban does not stand behind the quality, efficacy or regulatory compliance of products obtained from either of these entities.
AEGIS Environmental Management Inc. is the lawful owner of the AEGIS, AEM and AEGIS Microbe Shield trademarks, both in the U.S., Europe and Asia. For more than 30 years, AEGIS has been an odor control technology for apparel and footwear, and Microban is the sole owner of its antimicrobial product registration in the U.S., Canada, Europe and China.
Posted July 17, 2017
Source: Microban® International
