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$30K Worth of Multimeters Must Be Destroyed Because They're Yellow

Posted by Soulskill on from the school-buses-on-high-alert dept.

An anonymous reader points out a post at the blog of Sparkfun, a hobbyist electronics retailer. They recently received a letter from U.S. Customs saying a shipment of 2,000 multimeters was being barred from entry into the country. The reason? Trademark law. A company named Fluke holds a trademark on multimeters that have a 'contrasting yellow border.' Sparkfun's multimeters are a yellowish orange, but it was enough for Customs to stop the shipment. Returning the shipment is not an option because of import taxes in China, so the multimeters must now be destroyed. At $15 per item, it'll cost Sparkfun $30,000, plus the $150/hr fee for destroying them. Sparkfun had no idea about the trademark, and doesn't mind changing the color, but they say restrictions like these are a flaw in the trademark system. "Small business does not have the resources to stay abreast of all trademarks for all the products they don't carry. If you’re going to put the onus on the little guy to avoid infringing IP then you shouldn't need an army of consultants or attorneys to find this information."

9 of 653 comments (clear)

  1. Did Fluke request this? by ZorinLynx · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Did Fluke actually request this? Or did Customs do this of their own volition?

    If it's the latter, Fluke should step up and allow them to make a one time exception for this shipment. It would generate considerably goodwill for the company and show that they're not bullies keeping the little guy down.

    If they DID request this, then fuck them all with a chainsaw, seriously.

    1. Re:Did Fluke request this? by retchdog · · Score: 5, Informative

      The thing is, allowing trademark violations to go unchallenged for no particular reason at all (in law, being kind is not a reason) will dilute the mark just as if they did nothing, or even worse. So, there is heavy incentive for them not to allow it, and they probably wouldn't.

      --
      "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
    2. Re:Did Fluke request this? by asmkm22 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It seems unlikely that Fluke would have even known about the shipment, much less been in a position to request it. Also, I seriously doubt the company would benefit from much "goodwill" over the ordeal. Their target market is kind of niche, and not exactly prone to making buying decisions based on Facebook polls or whatever. Plus, letting a possibly-inferior product that can be mistaken for their own loose in the wild would mean much more in potential damages to their rep than any "goodwill" gained from the exemption.

      Sparkfun does bring up a good point, however. They didn't really do anything "wrong" yet still get hit with a financial loss big enough to sink a lot of businesses. There currently is no system in place for them to have been able to vet the order beforehand for possible trademark violations, aside from retaining lawyers to check out every product they want to order. That may very well be SOP for large companies with deep pockets and lawyers on staff, but it's entirely unlikely that any small business could afford it, much less realize it's something they need to do.

      At the end of the day, it's just another roadblock on a road that's already full of them, for anyone looking to start or expand their business.

    3. Re:Did Fluke request this? by kevink707 · · Score: 5, Funny

      If you do an image search for multimeters there aren't many colors left which don't copy one already in existence. I'd suggest Sparkfun try periwinkle.

    4. Re:Did Fluke request this? by spire3661 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Bullshit. It can be easily argued that in the modern era, ignorance of the law MUST be allowed as a valid defense. There are too many laws for any one person to know, ergo ignorance of the law is a viable defense.

      --
      Good-bye
    5. Re:Did Fluke request this? by cbeaudry · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Do a search for "Yellow Multimeter" on Google, then go to Google images and scroll down.

      There is probable a dozen different brands of multimeters with a yellow contour and grey main face plate. Its probably the most popular color scheme for multimeters.

      IMO, that patent should be quashed.

      https://www.google.ca/search?q...

    6. Re:Did Fluke request this? by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not likely. There are many yellow colored multimeters out there. And Radio Shack doesn't rebrand high end equipment, they rebrand low and medium-end equipment. Putting a Radio Shack brand on a Fluke multimeter would degrade it and reduce what they could sell it for.

      Paid cross licensing in order to make a yellow multimeter? Has the whole world gone insane, or is Slashdot just over-infested with modern-IT people who think in weird terms like that?

  2. Re:To be fair... by random735 · · Score: 5, Funny

    oh come on. it's clearly just a fluke!

  3. Absolute attempt to copy Fluke's design. by anotheryak · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Agreed, this is an attempt to copy Fluke's recent multimeter design.

    It's not just yellow. It has the same color scheme, same display layout, similar fonts, same case taper as a real Fluke. Brand name in same location as is the model number and description. It was designed to look as much like a Fluke as possible.

    If I saw the sparkfun multimeter sitting on a bench in my lab, I would think it was a Fluke until I got close.

    Sparkfun knew this when they bought them. Their fault. If they did not know it was designed to imitate a Fluke, they are in the wrong business. "Other companies did it and did not get caught" does not make it right. They risked it anyway and lost. Complaining about the trademark is not the solution.