The online community of knife collectors, A Knife Family Forged in Steel
Spyderco isn’t backing off its legal offensive against counterfeit knives. On August 16th, the company filed a second suit against Kittery Trading Post owner Kevin Inc. for allegedly peddling fake Spyderco knives at its Kittery, Maine retail outlet. Spyderco lawyers will battle Kevin Inc. on its home turf of Maine after a Colorado judge dismissed the first lawsuit against the retailer.
The initial suit, originally filed in Spyderco’s native state of Colorado in December 2016, was dismissed on the grounds of Lack of Personal Jurisdiction and Improper Venue. In her July ruling, Judge Christine M. Arguello wrote, “even after resolving all factual disputes in favor of Plaintiff, this Court cannot conclude that Defendant ‘expressly aimed’ its actions at Colorado.”
Spyderco alleges that Kevin Inc. knowingly sold counterfeits of two of its most popular models, the Paramilitary 2 and Military at its outdoor store. The new lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Maine, bears a close resemblance to the initial Colorado suit. But two Colorado-specific charges – the violation of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act and Misappropriation of Business Value – are no longer at issue.
The Kevin Inc. lawsuit is one of two that Golden, Colorado-based Spyderco is actively pursuing. At the end of July, the company took eCommerce giant eBay to task for the sale of fake Spyderco knives on its website.
I personally am very happy to see a company going after the frauds. It has gone on too long and now has spread so much it will be harder to get a handle on. I hope other companies follow this example!
Yesterday, Kevin Inc., the owner of Kittery Trading Post, settled out of court with Spyderco. In its complaint, Spyderco had alleged that the outdoor retailer sold counterfeit versions of the Spyderco Military and Paramilitary 2. The news marks the end of a legal battle that began in December 2016.
Spyderco initially filed suit in Colorado, but in July 2017 the case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds. In August, the company refiled in Kevin Inc.’s home state of Maine, with a modified docket to reflect that state’s laws.
The original complaint included photographs of knives marked with price tags with the words ‘CLONE PARAMILITARY’ and ‘CLONE MILITARY.’ “Kevin Inc. was thus aware of exactly what it was doing when it chose to offer for sale through its store the Counterfeit Knives,” Spyderco wrote in the complaint.
Few details are available regarding the nature of the settlement, but Spyderco did issue this statement:
“Spyderco brought to Kittery Trading Post’s attention that it was selling pre-owned counterfeit Spyderco products. Kittery Trading Post recognizes that counterfeit products are a critical problem for American industry and that Kittery Trading Post unwittingly facilitated the sale of these pre-owned products. Spyderco and Kittery Trading Post have now worked together to address these problems and rectified the situation to the parties’ satisfaction.”
Good for them! and really good for us too in the long run I believe!
© 2024 Created by Jan Carter. Powered by