This post is for all the players in the global market of log cabins. It is about a legal case between the Dutch giant Tuindeco and us, Eurodita, a fast-growing Lithuanian manufacturer. Tuindeco may have their own story. But this is what happened. If you read to the end, you will realize that you are the real winner of this battle.
In the end of 2014, Tuindeco sued us. The case was built on a plagiarism charge. Their lawyers claimed that one of our log cabins was a copy of their product. This was not a big surprise for us. At the time, our log cabins were rapidly growing in demand across Europe, and especially in Great Britain. As we see it, the Dutch company felt threatened, for their market share was potentially under attack.
Time and again, they warned us to stop producing the model. Obviously, we refused, for we thought their requests to be unreasonable and unfounded. And when they decided to go legal against us, we were confident we had the law on our side. And such proved to be the case.
THE PIZZA ANALOGY
After a lengthy legal process, the court decided that Tuindeco’s case had been frivolous and their claims unfounded. For one thing, we found evidence that the exact same model has been available to the market at least since the year 2005. Tuindeco started their production in 2007.
Second, the court argued that log cabins have become a generic object of trade practice, meaning that claims relating to patents and plagiarism do not apply. Every dealer will see this as common sense. They know that many manufacturers produce similar products, and they decide to source their log cabins from a manufacturer who offers the best prices and service.
“Imagine a pizzeria receiving a lawsuit for making a salami pizza. Wouldn’t this be ridiculous? Sure, someone baked it first, but now the salami pizza is part of world heritage, and can thus be made and sold by anyone who wishes to do so.” Such were the words of Mr. Rolanas Kutra, the founder and CEO of Eurodita, who commented on the court’s decision for the media.
WHAT OUR VICTORY BRINGS TO YOU
Even though we won the battle, the year following Tuindeco’s attack was a hard one for Eurodita. During the legal proceedings, we were ordered by the court to suspend all production processes. We lost some clients and recorded significant losses because of these temporary legal measures.
The truth prevailed, however, and the year 2016 is shaping to be absolutely magnificent for our feisty company. Our sales are through the rough, and we are currently expanding our shares in many different markets. In a way, the tiresome legal battle actually benefitted us.
Because smart dealers understand what the driving motif of this story was. Tuindeco and Eurodita produce similar products, but we do it cheaper. And, in business, nothing is worse than a more efficient competitor. That’s why the Dutch company went legal against us. The whole story gave us a lot of good publicity, and now you know who can create more value for your business. We are the leader in serving smart dealers like yourself.