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11 Jan 2010
Channel onlookers have shown solidarity with distributor M-Tech Data as the Mancunian firm takes the fight to Sun Microsystems through the courts.
Last month, the High Court of Justice ruled that M-Tech had infringed Sun-registered trademarks by importing unauthorised goods into the European Economic Area.
The distributor was quick to hit back, serving Sun’s lawyers with appeal papers.
The Manchester-based firm also revealed it was reaching out to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg,
“We believe that Sun uses its trademarks in an anti-competitive manner which we believe is unlawful and in breach of European law,” said a company statement. “This is a very important case with far-reaching implications for free trade in the UK and Europe.”
One anonymous industry onlooker, who posted a comment on ChannelWeb.co.uk, criticised Sun’s policy of only sharing with authorised channel partners information on which region products are intended for.
“The law that M-Tech broke is arcane and it is unfair that Sun provides no provenance information outside of its channel,” said the source.
“A reseller trading used Sun [product] in the EU has no idea where their products originated from, so essentially this could put an entire industry second-hand IT resellers out of business.”
Another source claimed both sides had a case to answer. “You can argue that it is a restriction of trade, but there are a couple of hundred resellers operating within the rules. It is a tricky area and there is right and wrong on both sides. This is not a new phenomenon.”
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