Plantronics settles with telecoms VAR over imports drama
Manchester telecoms reseller is the latest firm to settle out of court with the headset vendor
Plantronics has settled out of court with a Manchester telecoms reseller over the sale of kit which the vendor claims infringes EU trademark laws.
Manchester firm PMC Electrics, trading as PMC Telecom, claims it "inadvertently purchased" a small quantity of Plantronics headsets from a "trusted" source and believed they were authorised for sale in the EU.
Plantronics claims the kit infringed EU trademark laws and the duo settled out of court in an agreement which remains confidential.
Plantronics has been cracking down on this issue over the past couple of years, settling out of court with a number of firms on the same issue, and continuing legal action with another.
Although Plantronics did not elaborate on the specific nature of what it described as the trademark breach on this occasion, the previous such cases have involved the resellers in question selling Plantronics gear in the UK which has not been authorised for EU sale.
In a statement, Plantronics' head of channel Paul Dunne said: "Plantronics has agreed to an out-of-court settlement with PMC Electrics Limited of Manchester, also trading as PMC Telecom, relating to the sale of non-EU Plantronics products that Plantronics claimed infringed EU trademark laws. Details of the settlement remain confidential. PMC Electrics has co-operated with Plantronics in addressing these claims and has stated that it bought these goods in the UK believing them to be authorised for sale in the EU."
When contacted by CRN, PMC Telecom director Paul Conway said:
"PMC Telecom inadvertently purchased a small quantity of Plantronics headsets from trusted UK telecoms distribution believing them to be authorised for sale in the EU.
PMC fully co-operated with Plantronics in identifying the supply chain in respect of the offending items, ensuring an amicable resolution to the issue."
Neither Plantronics nor PMC were able to elaborate further on the case.