Rogers, Connecticut - Rogers Corp has won a legal battle with a Chinese company that was using its Poron tradename improperly to describe their goods. The unnamed infringer failed to respond to several "cease and desist" communications, and Rogers brought suit against the firm in a local Chinese court, according to a 25 Oct statement from the US firm.
The infringer claimed that the Poron mark had become generic for urethane foam materials but, after evidence was presented by both parties, the trial court sided with Rogers and denied the defendant's claim. The Chinese court ordered the defendant to pay damages and court costs to Rogers and cease the infringement immediately.
Nevertheless, an appeal was filed by the defendant. During a mediation overseen by the Chinese court of appeals, the defendant came to an agreement to cease infringement of Rogers' 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," stated Terrence Mahoney, vice president and general counsel of Rogers Corp. "Poron, the trade name of our family of high-performance urethane foam materials, is a valuable asset for Rogers Corp.
"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," his statement concluded.
Rogers did not give further details of the Chinese company nor the courts involved.
About Rogers Corporation
Rogers is a global technology leader in the development and manufacture of high-performance products based on various specialtymaterial including polyurethanes. Its products have a variety of applications in diverse markets including: portable communications, communications infrastructure, computer and office equipment, consumer products, ground transportation, aerospace and defense.
The firm operates manufacturing facilities in the United States (Arizona, Connecticut, and Illinois), Europe (Ghent, Belgium and Bremen, Germany) and Asia (Suzhou, China and Ansan, South Korea). In Asia the company maintains sales offices in Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore. Rogers has joint ventures in Japan and China with INOAC Corporation and in Taiwan with Chang Chun Plastics.
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