BRP wins ruling on illegal importation against UK re-seller
Valcourt, Québec, December 1st, 2008 – BRP acts to protect consumers from grey market sales.
Only months after terminating its business relationship with two major North American BRP dealers and penalizing 17 others from the region, BRP wins a lawsuit to refrain SQM Jetpower (SQM), a UK re-seller, from illegally importing Sea-Doo personal watercraft (PWCs) purchased outside the European Economic Area.
“BRP's position in regards to grey market is not new. We strongly believe that the way we operate through local distributors or dealers ensures the well-being of our network, protects consumers and maintains our brands”, said BRP’s Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary, Martin Langelier. “We have and will continue to take action against those who work outside this legitimate system”, he added.
The judgement rules that SQM will have to pay a significant amount in damages and costs to BRP, and provide details of where it purchased the PWCs and other relevant information. In the UK, the law prohibits the importation of goods from outside the European Economic Area without the brand owner’s consent.
According to Neil Ackermann, a partner at Hewitsons, a law firm specialising in Intellectual Property: “The law which prohibits the importation of goods from outside the European Economic Area without the brand owner’s consent is well established and fairly straight forward so it is somewhat surprising that people still take this approach and then resist action being taken against them. The example we often refer back to in these types of cases is the European Court of Justice ruling in 2001, preventing Tesco from selling imported Levi jeans from the United States.”
Langelier concluded: “BRP will pursue its efforts to fight against the sale of its products through illegal and illegitimate trade channels. Anyone who has purchased or is in the process of purchasing a Sea-Doo watercraft or any other BRP product from a source suspected of being unauthorized by BRP should contact their local BRP office.”
Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), a privately-held company, is a world leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of motorised recreational vehicles. Its portfolio of brands and products includes: Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and sport boats, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, direct injection technologies such as E-TEC, Can-Am all-terrain vehicles and roadsters, as well as Rotax engines and karts. With manufacturing facilities on three continents, BRP products are distributed in more than 80 countries.
www.brp.com
Sea-Doo, Ski-Doo, Lynx, Evinrude, Johnson, Can-Am, Rotax, E-TEC and the BRP logo are trademarks of Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
For information:
Johanne Denault
Manager, Corporate Communications
Tel: 450.532.5173
johanne.denault@brp.com