December 20, 2019 3 min read 2 Comments
As many of you know, we invented an entirely new lighting segment when we introduced the TRiLIGHT on Kickstarter. Since then we have been targeted by copy factories in China, and less than ethical marketing companies trying to make a buck off of our hard work.
We certainly have strong thoughts about intellectual property and copies. This is an interesting story on copies, intellectual property and their effect on the market. It goes beyond our products, but all copy products, which are rampant on Amazon now as it becomes more like Alibaba.
The copy factories no no limits and copy everything. Even their LED panels of the copy Trilights blatantly copy “Transformers” Logo, which is owned by Hasbro. Versions of the copy packaging also included the name “Transformers” as shown above. – Just bad business.
The copies are simply built as cheap as possible with no safety in mind. That is actual scotch tape holding together their electrical components. This unit runs extremely hot. Our testing facility said it was not only a fire hazard, but also a shock hazard to the person installing it.
You can see that they unapologetically copy our work from start to finish, but then they make fake claims and boost the performance…however, they do not pay attention to detail. You can see here that they claim double our lumens (6000 lumens), yet they forgot to double the icon that claims 3.8x brighter than a standard light bulb. We test and verify all of our claims. They simply lie to trick unknowing buyers.
Buyer beware. The copy products claim long warranties and guarantees, just don't try and use it. They are based in China and sell through Amazon. Amazon takes no responsibility after 30 days, and there is NO contact information. In fact, you may find that they put our logo, name and images on their instructions. Buyers call us upset asking for a refund, unfortunately we have to give them the bad news that they bought and the only thing we can do for them is offer the real product.
The copies steal EVERYTHING including our videos and images. Their marketing materials often show our real product, then they sell the cheap copy. Typical bait and switch.
Yes, the copies are all over Amazon. A shame since we launched ours with Amazon LaunchPad after Kickstarter. It is a breeding ground for copy products. That being said, we love Amazon as a customer. You will find ours there, but you will need to remain focused on buying the original despite a sea of much lower priced copies.
We do have multiple patents and trademarks on this item. In fact, we tried something different this year. In the past we have USA patents, but it only protects us in the USA. As a result we find copies throughout the rest of the world. This time we tried Chinese patents to try and keep the copies from exporting. Unfortunately, due to less than ethical business practices, the Chinese government issued the copy factories the exact same patents! What a waste!
If you want to support a US based company that employs a wonderful team of designers, engineers, bookkeepers, account mangers, shipping managers, customer service team, etc. then seek out the original and support the people who step "out of the box" and push innovation and design. We will be here to support our customers, and we hope they support us too. Our thanks for those who do.
Buy your original and safe TRiLIGHT - Motion Sensitive Garage Ceiling Light from http://www.stkrconcepts.com
February 17, 2021
So happy I read this. I was almost fooled into trying h the kickoff made in China.
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stephen neville
February 17, 2021
thank you so much for your infomation on chinese practises,this is what the american people really near to hear in a broad way.i hope that all american companies will follow your lead.