Rogers wins Poron court case
27/10/2010
Rogers identified a Chinese company that was infringing its rights with respect to the trademark for Poron by using it improperly to describe its own goods. The Chinese company failed to respond to several “cease and desist” communications, and Rogers brought a law suit against it in a local Chinese court.
In their defense, the Chinese company claimed that Poron had become generic, and attempted to prove that Poron is a generic name for urethane foam materials. After evidence was presented by both parties, the trial court sided with Rogers and denied the defendant’s claim that the mark had become generic. The court ordered the defendant to pay damages and court costs to Rogers and cease the infringement immediately.
An appeal was filed by the defendant. During a mediation overseen by the court of appeals, the defendant came to an agreement to cease infringement of Rogers' intellectual proprietary rights in the registered Poron trademark and to pay damages to Rogers including litigation fees.
“Protecting IP assets is a challenge for most companies,” said Terrence Mahoney, vice-president and general counsel of Rogers Corporation. “Poron, the trade name of our family of high performance urethane foam materials, is a valuable asset for Rogers Corporation. The company vigorously pursued its position to prove that its trademarked brand is not a generic term in the market and that the defendant infringed Rogers’ rights with respect to the mark. This case is testament to the company’s desire to protect its assets and should discourage future infringements.”
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