Rights on patented knockoff products

[thunder786]

Earlier this year i purchased something, which after a few months i no longer required. Tried selling them in various places online but they got taken down claiming to be imported knockoffs of another patented product.

 

I reached out to the UK company i purchased from but they refused to acknowledge any patent issues, refused a refund and any assistance.

 

I then stated i'd escalate via my credit card and the company threatened legal action if the payment dispute was to be successful.

 

I've done my research and the product seems to be a knockoff and protected under patents, which means they cannot be resold. Been getting mixed responses from various people, some saying go via small claims court and others saying not much can be done.

 

Should i just accept the loss or would i likely win in small claims if i can prove using the patent numbers that the purchased item was a knockoff?

[thunder786]

Bit reluctant to give the company name at the moment as i've already received a text message from someone asking for my email address so they can serve me documents regarding legal proceedings from their client. Text didn't include client name, product or anything else so blocked the number thinking it's phishing.

 

Item was adjustable weights for £439. I received notice from the patent holder regarding everything that was patented. Checked the patent numbers, saw pictures and everything looks virtually similar, plus the company didn't dispute my initial queries which is why i think they are a knockoff.

 

The issue i've had from Citizens advice and my credit card is that this can't be classed as fake (counterfeit) because they are branded differently and not trying to be sold as the patented product. There are loads of information online regarding counterfeit, but very little on knockoff products.

[thunder786]

Thanks for all the responses, let me clarify a few things.

 

I'm not being chased by the patent holder, they've just stopped me reselling the item i purchased by reporting the advert listing. Backed the report up with the various patent numbers and detailed description of the patents that have been breached. I've had my advert taken down from eBay and Gumtree.

 

The company i purchased from Gymzo, are the ones who mentioned getting their 'criminal investigation team' (laughable) involved if i done credit card chargeback. They're unwilling to assist in providing original product description or images and just state i'm outside their 30 day return period.

 

My credit card company won't assist without original page screenshot, citizens advice saying i don't really have options and the original seller not assisting, i feel like small claims is the only option but unsure if i'd be successful.

 

The product i purchased was branded differently which is why i feel it is a knockoff rather than a counterfeit.

[thunder786]

On 28/06/2021 at 22:12, dx100uk said:

why does a credit card company need a original page screenshot? of what? the advert that lead you to be scammed into buying a counterfeit in the first place?

 

so Gizmo arent using a gofer the texts are from them?

 

That's what confused me as well from my credit card company. They essentially said that as long as the product was as described they cannot assist. They're not lawyers so don't get involved in patented disputes and it's up to me to prove that i was mis-sold.

 

On 29/06/2021 at 08:22, Ethel Street said:

I'm wondering whether that text is just one of the scam/phishing texts going around and has nothing at all to do with with your dispute with Gymzo? It's just coincidence it arrived at the same time as you were in discussion with Gymzo.

 

Some of the details of the text lead me to think that it was just a scare tactic, i cannot prove this either way. The wording of the message is just too coincidental to be random, and that i've never received anything similar previously.