Manufacturer of window and door safety restrictors, Jackloc, has won a three-year intellectual property lawsuit against a Turkish lock manufacturer.
The litigation process arose after Jackloc sent samples of its product to Penkid Lock and Manufacturing Co. in Istanbul. Just a few days later, Penkid’s owner applied for a Turkish utility model – described as a kind of ‘second-class patent’ – for a window safety restrictor ‘similar’ to the Jackloc product.
The model application, which was initially approved, enabled Penkid to stop Jackloc from selling its cable window restrictor in Turkey.
In a bid to protect the brand, Jackloc instructed a patent attorney to start action to cancel the application. This process involved filing evidence, sending samples – and lots of hearings and postponements – until the Turkish court appointed experts to give their opinion.
The experts agreed Penkid’s product was a similar copy of Jackloc, meaning that Jackloc is now free to sell the product in Turkey again.
Emma Wells, director of Jackloc, said:
“We are delighted to have won this lengthy court battle. We will not hesitate to take similar action against others who attempt to copy our design. As inventors of the original window restrictors, now sold all over the world, we are determined to protect our brand.”
Jackloc’s legal advisors are monitoring other window restrictor manufacturers to ensure they take proper account of the ‘prior art’ in the original Jackloc product, first launched in 2002.
Peter Smith of Serjeants LLP said:
“Jackloc has built its reputation on product safety, so it is especially important to take action if other businesses create confusion between Jackloc’s products and their own. I am glad we were able to stop this Turkish company claiming rights in something that it had never invented.”
Jackloc is a registered trade mark in the EU and 18 other countries and the company has an international patent application pending for a version of the restrictor.
Jackloc has been campaigning for over 12 years to educate people about the dangers of open windows and has improved safety and security in buildings all over the world, including The Ritz Hotel in London, 20,000 Travelodge hotel rooms, as well as care homes, hospitals, student accommodation, schools and high-rise flats. The locks comprise a flexible cable between a window or door and its frame, restricting how far it can be opened. Products available from Jackloc include the original key-operated lock, a swivel stud lock or the new ‘push and turn’ design, which aims to be ‘as child resistant as possible’, without the need for a key.
