Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against a Los Angeles retailer, Rider Best, Inc., and a Chinese manufacturer, Enping City Shuangyi Electronics Industrial Company, for use of a counterfeit UL certification mark on consumer electronics products. Through the lawsuit, UL seeks to stop the unauthorized use of its well-known trademark. Rider Best, Inc. is a California corporation with two store locations in Los Angeles. Enping City Shuangyi Electronics Industrial Company, which owns Rider Best, is a Chinese corporation that manufactured the power adapter products bearing the counterfeit mark at its Guangdong, China factory.
The complaint alleges federal trademark infringement, counterfeit of a federally registered trademark, federal unfair competition and false designation of origin and false and misleading representations, and unfair competition and false advertising under California law.
UL's lawsuit follows the successful raid by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office on two Rider Best stores in February of this year, where law enforcement agents seized a total of 28,907 counterfeit mobile phone power adapters and two counterfeit mobile phone power adapter kits valued at more than $570,000. These products displayed counterfeit UL certification marks, which can mislead consumers to believe that the products meet UL's safety standards.
"Consumers around the world count on the UL Mark to signal that the products they purchase and use have met UL's Standards for Safety," said Paul Brown, UL's Vice President of Intellectual Property and Litigation. "In the United States alone, we estimate there are approximately 125 UL Marks in every home. This legal action is important to protect a symbol of trust and objectivity that both consumers and compliant manufacturers depend upon."
