SHENZHEN, China—The Bluetooth Special Interest Group isn’t going to take it anymore—at least that’s the message heard around the world as the group announced it orchestrated a successful raid in a Shenzhen, China, factory suspected of infringing on the Bluetooth SIG’s registered trademarks.
The Bluetooth SIG said the Bluebird Hi-Tech Co. Ltd. factory was manufacturing products bearing the Bluetooth trademark and logo without the authority of the Bluetooth SIG, which owns the mark, and without going through the Bluetooth SIG’s qualification program.
The group said the raid, which was conducted with the full support of the Chinese government, uncovered more than 20,000 pieces of illegally-tagged Bluetooth items, including headsets, user manuals, packaging, printed boxes and components.
Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG, stated, “Bluetooth wireless technology is a globally accepted standard in which Bluetooth qualification is a necessary prerequisite of the Bluetooth technology IP license and applying the applicable Bluetooth trademark to a product. By bypassing qualification and tests, it is unfair not only to Bluetooth SIG members who have conformed to the Bluetooth Qualification Program but also to consumers, who often end up buying poor quality grade products that have not met the Bluetooth specification requirements or passed interoperability testing. Our goal is to encourage companies to qualify their Bluetooth products and educate them that infringing upon property owned by someone or by another organization, regardless of origin or country, is wrong.”
The group said its educating and training Bluetooth manufacturers worldwide about its qualification program to improve conformance, testing and interoperability towards Bluetooth specifications.
Daoxin Ou, head of trademark and advertisement at the Shenzhen Administration for Industry & Commerce’s Futian branch, commented, “As in any country, the fight against IP and trademark infringement will be a long-term and challenging one. But one thing is certain; China is committed to the fight against IP and trademark infringement. This is vital to ensure the rights of authorized Bluetooth products and other kinds of products from other manufacturers, and for the continued innovation of great new products that originate from China.”
The issue is notable as China has long been a trouble spot for trademark and patent infringements.
