aquatuning trademark grab ?

[DarthBeavis]

Then even Heaven needs water-cooling. Amen!

[Navanod]

from what i can gather, it seems that they are, in fact, doing this to gain a monopoly on the water cooling market in their country. what, with trademarking the most popular brands and sending the one(i read confirmed, but i don't think anyone has actually posted the letter) cease and desist letter to a company.

In effect, they're crowning themselves as the sole distributor for all these brands, with arbitury powers to decide who can resell these products.
Only difference? They're not interested in distribution...but more interested in extortion

they would have stood to gain a substantial market share in their area had they perhaps not shot their load a little early. imagine if they had sat on that letter until the statute of limitations on the contest of the trademarks was up? there would have been no possible legal action any of the involved companies could have taken to regain their name...then, i assume, they would have sent out cease and desist letters en mass.

I had been wondering the same thing this whole time too. Why break their cover at the last possible moment and give the brands a chance to throw a wrench in the plan?
Another month or so more wouldn't have costed them much in terms of lost extortion money or monopolized product sales, compared to the amount of money at stake in the form of the "investments" made to register all these brands.

Still, I'm sure some of the brands would still have boycotted and deny further supplies to AT had the plan succeeded. AT was possibly taking a gamble that enough brands would close an eye that business could go on and any of the missing (boycotting) brands could then be replaced, Koolance style, with "identical" products, or possible even the real stuff, obtained secretly through a 3rd party to sidestep the boycott.

Alright, enough theories from me...I just hope no one tries this kinda stunt in my backyard

[RCG_Bex]

Damn, I was wanting to order a rad from their (koolance 480 - it's offering free delivery to UK at the mo and it saves shipping, customs and holding charges) but I think I'll pass.

If this keeps up, there may be a riot or protest at i37 - lol any one going? :P

~Bex

[machinegoesping]

I had been wondering the same thing this whole time too. Why break their cover at the last possible moment and give the brands a chance to throw a wrench in the plan?
Another month or so more wouldn't have costed them much in terms of lost extortion money or monopolized product sales, compared to the amount of money at stake in the form of the "investments" made to register all these brands.

Still, I'm sure some of the brands would still have boycotted and deny further supplies to AT had the plan succeeded. AT was possibly taking a gamble that enough brands would close an eye that business could go on and any of the missing (boycotting) brands could then be replaced, Koolance style, with "identical" products, or possible even the real stuff, obtained secretly through a 3rd party to sidestep the boycott.

Alright, enough theories from me...I just hope no one tries this kinda stunt in my backyard

yeah, i just don't get it. as you said, one more month. 16 trademarks at 3000€ each, that's 48000€. that's a substantial amount of money with which to gamble. and, as soon as they sent the cease and desist letters to the smaller companies, the companies would have been forced to close their accounts with the respective manufacturers thus alerting them to the shenanigans. at which point, lawyers would have been contacted and respective accounts pulled. third party rebranding would have been aquatunings only route. startup for manufacturing would have been very costly--too costly, it seems, for that to be their intentions...i suppose some anonymous third party backer could have been supporting the cause, but still, that just seems like a stretch. i agree, third party purchasing and rebranding seems to be the most viable reason for their actions.

however, all just speculation. one thing is certain, though...speculation or no, they've definitely sh*t the bed with this one. the above known actions are unethical enough to warrant boycott. and, as has been shown, the water cooling consumer seems to have unprecedented loyalty.

[MrToad]

the water cooling consumer seems to have unprecedented loyalty.

Well, they weren't only screwing with the manufacturers (who incidentally are also active contributors and respected members of the community).

Their business model is a potential threat to the shops we all use, whose owners happen to be respected members of the community and very nice people too.

AT has pushed things to a point where is really hard not to take sides...

[Brodholm]

Have AT commented on this yet? If so, Link plz (yeah I know I'm lazy)

I was about to order some stuff from them but now i don't know. Is there any other store in europe that have such a wide selection of stuff?

[Jupiler]

AFAIK, they haven't (and probably won't)

Try http://www.highflow.nl in Holland. Heard some good stuff from them.

I ordered a couple of times from http://www.it-service.be/webshop/, here in Belgium.
You'll have to ask if they send to Sweden though.

[BulldogPO]

How does Gabe like that they have also taken Swiftech name?
G** d***.

http://oami.europa.eu/CTMOnline/Requ...n_Result_NoReg


EDITed by IFMU
Let's watch the language please.
/EDIT

[naokaji]

If this keeps up, there may be a riot or protest at i37 - lol any one going? :P

Going there would be beyond my financial means, but would be fun to chase them out of the country with pitchforks and torches

Have AT commented on this yet? If so, Link plz (yeah I know I'm lazy)

They only say they can't comment on it and have threatened Employees with only god knows what to not let the slightest bit of info out.

How does Gabe like that they have also taken Swiftech name?

Gabe said a few pages back that he can't comment due to legal stuff going on. But it is safe to assume that he is far from happy about it.

[Brodholm]

They only say they can't comment on it and have threatened Employees with only god knows what to not let the slightest bit of info out.

Ok, thats just lame. I'm bringing my business elsewhere. Maybe I should send a mail and ask them and if they don't reply I go shopping somewhere else.

But do you have any facts that they actually threatened employees?

[naokaji]

Ok, thats just lame. I'm bringing my business elsewhere. Maybe I should send a mail and ask them and if they don't reply I go shopping somewhere else.

But do you have any facts that they actually threatened employees?

The ones I contacted had no problems to talk openly before, suddenly they all follow the official company line of can't comment, but of course in the current economic situation it doesn't take much of a threat to shut employees up.

[madmaxx]

Then even Heaven needs water-cooling. Amen!

praise Jeebus!

[DarthBeavis]

praise Jeebus!

Moses raised his cane and parted the seas of Fluid XP...

[Waterlogged]

Moses raised his cane and parted the heavily diluted seas of Fluid XP...

Fixed.

[MpG]

Moses raised his cane and sloooowly parted the seas of viscous Fluid XP...

Also fixed.

[GrossmeisterB]

Ok, thats just lame. I'm bringing my business elsewhere. Maybe I should send a mail and ask them and if they don't reply I go shopping somewhere else.

But do you have any facts that they actually threatened employees?

You can try to Mail www.a-c-shop.de, they are very friendly there, and I think they can even order stuff they don't have in their webshop, and I think they will also ship to sweden...

EDIT: you might wanna try www.caseking.de, too...they have a lot of Bitspower-parts there, too...

[Brodholm]

You can try to Mail www.a-c-shop.de, they are very friendly there, and I think they can even order stuff they don't have in their webshop, and I think they will also ship to sweden...

EDIT: you might wanna try www.caseking.de, too...they have a lot of Bitspower-parts there, too...

I have almost all the stuff I need. Im grabbing a aquaero and some sensors. Maybe a flowmeter. I may be getting 2 aquaeros... Kinda expensive though...

[BulldogPO]

Gabe said a few pages back that he can't comment due to legal stuff going on. But it is safe to assume that he is far from happy about it.

Yep, thats for sure.

[hwlabs]

It would be too costly for each and every individual company to sue for their marks.

Chances are negotiations are afoot, with some dodgy provisions leading to the turn over, from ironically agreeing to being granted permissions to use their own mark by the applicant and even having recognizing the "noble" intentions behind the blindsided registrations, and other indemnifications against legal liabilities.

There is very little to be gained by a lawsuit, the PR fallout on its own has been damaging enough to the offending party as well as their trading relationships.

The brand owners have to prove that the they have been damaged by this act sufficiently to justify full legal action and tort. Which can be an issue considering that said company has started using some of its unduly registered marks against some competitors as news reports would have it.

Suffice to say, for people to resort to dirty tricks is simply a sign of a lack of imagination in growing their business.

Too bad, they can't have these matters resolved before a retired superior court judge in the state of California, eh?

[GrossmeisterB]

I have almost all the stuff I need. Im grabbing a aquaero and some sensors. Maybe a flowmeter. I may be getting 2 aquaeros... Kinda expensive though...

I think you can get them from Aquacomputer directly, and Shoggy (he's here, too) will be helpful getting the stuff to Sweden...just send him a PN...oder check www.aquacomputer.de

[DarthBeavis]

It would be too costly for each and every individual company to sue for their marks.

Chances are negotiations are afoot, with some dodgy provisions leading to the turn over, from ironically agreeing to being granted permissions to use their own mark by the applicant and even having recognizing the "noble" intentions behind the blindsided registrations, and other indemnifications against legal liabilities.

There is very little to be gained by a lawsuit, the PR fallout on its own has been damaging enough to the offending party as well as their trading relationships.

The brand owners have to prove that the they have been damaged by this act sufficiently to justify full legal action and tort. Which can be an issue considering that said company has started using some of its unduly registered marks against some competitors as news reports would have it.

Suffice to say, for people to resort to dirty tricks is simply a sign of a lack of imagination in growing their business.

Too bad, they can't have these matters resolved before a retired superior court judge in the state of California, eh?

I would rather see these issues decided in the cage . . .if UFC rules are too restrictive we can always implement Thunder dome rules . . .

[systemviper]

Originally Posted by hwlabs
It would be too costly for each and every individual company to sue for their marks.

Chances are negotiations are afoot, with some dodgy provisions leading to the turn over, from ironically agreeing to being granted permissions to use their own mark by the applicant and even having recognizing the "noble" intentions behind the blindsided registrations, and other indemnifications against legal liabilities.

There is very little to be gained by a lawsuit, the PR fallout on its own has been damaging enough to the offending party as well as their trading relationships.

The brand owners have to prove that the they have been damaged by this act sufficiently to justify full legal action and tort. Which can be an issue considering that said company has started using some of its unduly registered marks against some competitors as news reports would have it.

Suffice to say, for people to resort to dirty tricks is simply a sign of a lack of imagination in growing their business.

Too bad, they can't have these matters resolved before a retired superior court judge in the state of California, eh?

and who friggin wins, the lawyers...

[Erasmus354]

So, I was looking through the US trademark database. Swiftech has canceled their US trademark in 2008, and Danger Den abandoned their trademark in 2006 (I assume they failed to pay certain fees).

Anyways, all of the AT trademarks have gone out of the "translation and search completed" phase and into "registration published" phase which is where opposition can be brought against the trademarks. I guess we will have to wait and see if any of them are successfully challenged.

EDIT:

Aquatuning is grabbing up some trademarks in the US too!

Serial Number Reg. Number Word Mark Check Status Live/Dead
1 77751717 MASTERKLEER TARR LIVE
2 77740835 THERMOCHILL TARR LIVE
3 77574943 3612135 YATE LOON TARR LIVE
4 77677958 AQUA TUNING TARR LIVE
5 77572851 PHOBYA TARR LIVE

[Kal-EL]

some1 did that with zanzabar, and im rather sure that ive had it before anything else since the bar with it was the 1st biz and it was in 99

Who owns teh zanzabar in Waikiki? you?

[Erasmus354]

Snippet from the Masterkleer US trademark.

C 017. US 001 005 012 013 035 050. G & S: (Based on Use in Commerce) Non-metal hoses for use in the computer watercooling systems; Plastic tubes for use in computer watercooling systems; Watering hoses(Based on 44(e)) Non-metal hoses for use in the computer watercooling systems; Plastic tubes for use in computer watercooling systems; Watering hoses. FIRST USE: 20061228. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20061228

Aquatuning is claiming that they have first use of Masterkleer in commerce in 2006. Pretty sure McMaster has that first use claim. Problem is I am having a hell of a time informing McMaster of this infringement, all I can find is sales contacts.



EDIT: Too bad Swiftech let their trademark get canceled by not filing a section 8, because it had an international mark which might have helped them against the CTM that AT has pending in Europe. http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?r...entry=76232282

I guess this should serve as a lesson to people to be more careful about their trademarks. It looks like Swiftech has been pretty negligent.