Bridgestone Successfully Protects Brand and Trademark Rights
Tokyo (February 17, 2009) - Bridgestone Corporation (“Bridgestone”) today announced the successful results of a trademark infringement complaint against Chinese manufacturers that attempted to infringe on the good will established by certain Bridgestone intellectual property. Specifically, Bridgestone has been successful in causing the certain businesses to cease the use of two confusing similar names, “Rockstone” and “Bridgesteel” name, Details of the actions are described below.
Rockstone: Bridgestone filed a trademark infringement complaint against Shandong Santai Rubber Co., Ltd., (subsequently, Shandong Santai), an entity that manufactured and marketed tires under the “Rockstone” brand, a name which closely resembles the famous Bridgestone trademark.
In addition, Bridgestone has been taking actions to prevent the distribution of Shandong Santai products above to various regions throughout the world. These responses included filing a trademark complaint in the Netherlands in October 2008 against a Shandong Santai dealership, Heuver Banden Groothandel BV.
As a result of these legal actions, in November 2008 Bridgestone reached an agreement with the dealership, and in December 2008 it also reached an agreement with Shandong Santai, the result of which included the suspension of the manufacturing and marketing of tires using the “Rockstone” name.
Bridgesteel: Bridgestone filed a trademark infringement complaint against Hangzhou Bridgesteel Rubber Co., Ltd., a company that manufactured and marketed conveyor belts under the “Bridgesteel” brand, a name which closely resembles the famous Bridgestone registered trademark.
In September 2007, Bridgestone filed a trademark infringement complaint at the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court, and a decision to uphold the complaint was issued at the end of 2008. The Court ruled that the plaintiff must cease to use of the “Bridgesteel” trademark and its Chinese equivalent, dispose of the molds, and cease to use the Chinese equivalent of “Bridgesteel” as its company name.
Fundamental to Bridgestone's corporate philosophy to imitation products and services is to give the highest importance to customer safety and peace of mind. Going forward, Bridgestone will continue to maintain and improve its brand value by proactively identifying parties who attempt to imitate its trademarks and will initiate legal proceedings against them.
