Company tried to register the brand as its own and sell it back to Kiddimoto for a five-figure sum.
Balance bike supplier Kiddimoto has won an 18-month legal battle against a firm who tried to take the brand’s name as its own.
The Chinese company attempted to register ‘Kiddimoto’ as its trademark in the country, before attempting to sell it back the actual company for a five-figure sum.
ToyNews understands it’s not uncommon for certain firms to register Western brands, in order to block the original IP owner from selling in China.
With the help of a Kiddimoto colleague based in Beijing and a Chinese Trademark lawyer, the Kiddimoto name will now be registered as the actual company’s trademark in China.
MD Simon Booth said: “We work very closely with our manufacturer and it was this close relationship that alerted us to the registration. We have great contacts in China who were able to advise us in sourcing a strong legal team to overturn the registration and then register Kiddimoto for ourselves.
“It is vitally important brands protect themselves against any inferior companies in foreign countries as it will have a massive affect on brand perception across the world. Not only that, but companies can be held to ransom, should you come to trade in that country only to find that someone else has registered your company name already.
“The best way [for other toy firms to protect themselves] is to work closely with any contacts they may have in potential hotspots – South East Asia, China, South America etc and identify any potential conflicts early.
“Employing far-reaching alerts, even simple Google alerts, will give you forewarning of a developing issue. Leaving it too late to take action may result in you losing that registration for good.”
