A Letter from Jeff Hall, President of iClick

Jeff Hall, president of iClick

Dear Distributors,

Last year, I sent an email regarding PopSockets grips. Specifically, the message was to inform you that, even though PopSockets LLC has a patent on PopSockets and that iClick has the exclusive rights to supply PopSockets to the promotional industry, there were a number of factories selling cheap knock-offs of the real product. At that time, I asked you to resist the urge to sell these fakes and to help identify suppliers that were selling products in violation of the patent. I was deeply gratified by the response from so many of you and impressed with your commitment to support our industry by upholding the patent process.

Recently we have seen a significant increase in the number of suppliers that are advertising fake PopSockets directly to your customers, and we’ve heard many of you are losing sales to these companies. It’s easy to wonder if you should start selling the fakes in order to save a sale, but the risks are simply too great.

Here is my reasoning. (I hope these will be useful talking points and education for your customers.)

1. Last month, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a rare general exclusion order for PopSockets LLC that empowers U.S. Customs to seize imported counterfeits that violate PopSockets’ patents. The general exclusion order is granted to less than 1 percent of the companies requesting the protection it offers and is therefore enforced aggressively by Customs. This means that there is a very good chance that, after paying for an order from one of the China factories offering fakes, the order will be seized and confiscated at the border, and you and your customer will be left without product.

2. The fakes are very cheaply made and do not compare to actual PopSockets in terms of quality, usefulness and longevity. Since PopSockets have become so popular, it will be obvious to most of the people who receive one of the knock-offs that it is a cheap fake, which will reflect poorly on your customer and their brand. If budget is an issue, they would be smarter to purchase a less expensive, but still high-quality, phone grip. We offer several.

3. I believe that, as an industry, we need to make sure we are not knowingly assisting overseas factories to sell products into America in violation of patents. If you place an order with an overseas factory, then you are the importer and you are responsible for violating the U.S. patent. It is not worth it!

Based on the nature of their conduct, companies that sell counterfeit products cannot be trusted. So, I am asking you again to protect yourselves, your customers and the reputation of our industry by refusing to sell fake PopSockets.

And, if you haven’t seen or used a real PopSockets grip, call or email us for a sample. It really is one of the highest quality and most impactful products to hit the promotional market in years.

I greatly appreciate your support,

Jeff

Jeff Hall
President, iClick Inc.

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