FraudFighter, a Division of UVeritech, Inc. and a Pioneer in Fraud Prevention Wins Trademark Case
(PRWEB) September 02, 2015 -- Fraud Fighter has always had the goal of providing its clients with the best possible product at the lowest possible price. Maximizing client return on investment not only provides the best outcome for customers, but it is also the best course for the company to follow, as it is most likely to lead to long-term relationships with the people who buy from us. With this in mind, FraudFighter moved production of some of its products to an American-owned factory in China back in 2003 - in order to lower production costs without sacrificing quality.
At that same time, FraudFighter redesigned its best selling counterfeit detection machine, the UV8, to accommodate higher wattage bulbs, which would make the new machine more powerful. The redesigned machine was given the name “UV16” since it used two 8-watt bulbs (2 x 8 =16), while its predecessor, the UV8, used two 4-watt bulbs. The fluorescent UV bulbs used in the UV8 were given the product number “UVF461”; while the higher wattage bulbs used in the UV16 model were given part number UVF861 to reflect the increase in wattage from 4 watts to 8 watts.
In 2011, a single customer purchased 15,000 units of UV16. Soon after delivery, a flood of calls came in from that company’s store locations, saying that the machines were flashing, burning, and smoking. Recognizing that this was obviously a problem stemming from the production of the machines, FraudFighter launched an investigation to uncover the cause of the problem. After consulting with several electronics experts, the problem was pinpointed: low cost, low-quality bulbs. The factory had been acquiring cheaper, inferior materials with which to build the machines in order to maximize their profits.
A meeting with the factory owner revealed that he did not consider the issues with the production as the factory’s fault, since he was simply purchasing the bulbs from a third party provider. The factory refused to cooperate with FraudFighter in working out an equitable resolution to the problem and accepted no responsibility for the low quality bulbs. Accordingly, FraudFighter quickly ended its partnership with the factory and found a new factory that was willing to meet its high production standards. This new factory relationship is still alive today, and is entering its 5th year.
Unfortunately, in 2011, the initial factory filed for and received a US trademark for part number “UVF861”, which led to the denial of the FraudFighter’s application for the trademark in 2012. The old factory also sent letters to some of FraudFighter customers warning that purchasing UVF861 bulbs from FraudFighter was a trademark violation and that they could only legally purchase the UVF861 bulbs from them.
FraudFighter attempted to negotiate a resolution to this development, but no settlement was available. Failing to resolve the trademark issue with the factory directly, FraudFighter filed a petition with the US Patent & Trade office to cancel the “UVF861” trademark. After 18 months of depositions and trial briefs, FraudFighter’s petition to cancel the trademark was granted. The factory appealed the decision, but was denied their appeal, meaning that FraudFighter was free to use UVF861 as the bulb’s part number again.
Fraud Fighter ultimately decided to change the bulb’s part number from UVF861 to T5UV16-POS15.
“The decision to change the part number was quite logical.” said FraudFighter Chief Operations Officer Sean Trundy. “T5 refers to the size of the bulb. UV16 and POS15 are the two products that use that specific bulb,” Mr. Trundy said.
FraudFighter updated their business literature to make it as clear as possible that bulbs with part number UVF861 are no longer valid replacement bulbs for the FraudFighter UV16 and POS15 counterfeit detectors, despite the fact that the markings on older models of UV16 and the POS15 state that the UVF861 bulb is the correct replacement bulb.
“The problem is one of safety and economics.” Mr Trundy said. “The old factory did not utilize industry standards in deciding where to source the bulbs, and thus the use of the UVF861 bulbs sourced from the old factory will not only invalidate the warranty, but may also result in a dangerous malfunction that could cause damage or injury,” Mr. Trundy said.
Although FraudFighter intends to re-file for the trademark of UVF861 so that others cannot produce similar bulbs with that product number, FraudFighter will not be using the product number anymore to avoid any future confusion. Users of UV16 and POS15 machines are instructed to only purchase replacement bulbs with part number T5UV16-POS15.
Summary
With many years of experience in loss prevention, law enforcement, security and counterfeit detection, FraudFighter is the premiere leader of innovation in the areas of fraud prevention and compliance management. FraudFighter is headquartered in Glendora, CA. For more information, or to schedule an interview with FraudFighter’s COO Sean Trundy, please visit their website or call: 800-883-8822
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Sean Trundy, FraudFighter, http://www.fraudfighter.com/, +1 800.883.8822, [email protected]
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