"Estes-Stores" — beware!

[augendoc]

Like most of us here, I too received the email notice from the legitimate Estes. I checked out estes-stores and what with the products and the exact same logo you can’t at a casual glance tell that this isn’t a legit store run by the real Estes. As it appears to be run from offshore and probably China, my hunch is that Estes may
possibly have never registered or copywrited their logo etc in China. Odd that they may have neglected to do so, though, since they have their kits manufactured in China.

Maybe the bogus site is siphoning off Estes kits from the factory in China, maybe it’s an employee running a few kits off the assembly line after hours, maybe they are all QC rejects pulled from the trash. Maybe they take your $$ and send you bubkes.

For what its worth, I met a fundamental-orifice-lawyer once whose specialty was finding US companies who had failed to register their trademarks in China. He would the register them himself and then either extort money out of the US companies, or start up a business in China with Chinese colleagues mimicking the US company. One of the mimics, at least for awhile was a burger business, possibly In-N-Out or BK or Jack-in-the Box.

I hope the real Estes can shut these guys down before customers get burned and the Estes name gets besmirched.

 

[SecondRow]

As it appears to be run from offshore and probably China, my hunch is that Estes may
possibly have never registered or copywrited their logo etc in China. Odd that they may have neglected to do so, though, since they have their kits manufactured in China.

It would be insane if a company that regularly did business in another country didn’t register its trademarks in that country. So let’s nip that one in the bud. See attached, it’s the Estes Chinese trademark registration. The real issue Is that Chinese enforcement of foreign business IP is for ****. Counterfeiters can act with impunity, and there’s very little the foreign business can do within China.

The best thing Estes can do is get the website taken down or removed from search results. As it stands now, this company doesn’t turn up on the first page of a Google search for Estes, Estes rockets, Estes stores, or Estes stores rockets. At least not for me anyway. So I doubt it will have much effect.

 

[SolarYellow]

My understanding of the fundamental legal philosophy around IP in China is that once something (literally anything) enters the country, it belongs to "the people" because Communism. Which means any of the people is free to make use of it. Of course, nobody is really free to do anything without the approval of the CCP, so...

 

[cfoster3448]

Looks like he's still in business - here is his storefront:

 

[kuririn]

Looks like he's still in business - here is his storefront:

How come a Chinese domain owner has a storefront in a trailer park in Minot, ND?
Or was that a joke?

 

[cfoster3448]

 

[kuririn]

Hmm....... I wonder which one is the Estes_Store trailer?