In TPi #282, we spoke to representatives from MA Lighting and Avolites about the growing issue of counterfeit products within the live events space and explored some of the ways in which the industry could tackle this problem. It was always a topic that would merit further investigation – hence, we found ourselves on a video call with Christian Hertel from MADRIX who was keen to give his take on the issue.
“We were hiding the counterfeiting situation for a few years,” stated Hertel candidly, explaining how MADRIX didn’t want to give greater exposure to the wider market that such products existed. However, Hertel explained how this has changed in the past few years.
The copyright for the MADRIX software, which is held by umbrella company inoage GmbH, is protected under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, as well as the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China. Further to this, in 2022, inoage obtained the Certificates of Software Copyright Registration for the MADRIX software in China.
However, despite this legal protection, the company discovered that unscrupulous individuals infringe on inoage’s rights by selling pirated MADRIX software. According to Hertel, these actions have damaged the brand’s reputation, especially in China, disrupted product services, and impacted the market sales of MADRIX software in Asia. In response, inoage proactively engaged a professional law firm to take legal action and has already achieved a series of successful outcomes.
“It became very clear that we would have to make a significant investment to stop the counterfeits and we as a company want to go straight to the source of the problem,” stated Hertel. “We are working with our legal team and lawyers to identify the source of the MADRIX counterfeits, dismantle the sales channels of these counterfeit products, and take action against both sellers and users of MADRIX counterfeit products.”
Recently, inoage once again launched an administrative procedure to combat a company’s illicit sale of MADRIX counterfeit on a popular e-commerce platform. Following the case’s acceptance, the involved parties reached a settlement under the coordination of the administrative authority. The case was eventually closed with the infringing company ceasing infringement, destroying all infringing products, disclosing all sales data to inoage, paying substantial compensation, as well as signing an undertaking to refrain from any further infringement and participate in the fight against pirated software.
Hertel highlighted some of the other measures that MADRIX is taking in the future: “In collaboration with our legal team, we have prepared several letters for our distributors and dealers worldwide. For instance, if a MADRIX partner encounters a counterfeit product in a nightclub, they can present this letter to the owner. The letter states that if the owner destroys the counterfeit product, no legal action will be taken, and they will be encouraged to purchase an original MADRIX software. We also request that they disclose where they purchased the product to help us identify the seller. As a company, our focus is not suing users right now but on uncovering the sources of these counterfeit products. The more information we receive about the sellers of the counterfeit products, the faster we can identify the source.”
Furthermore, inoage as an organisation urges consumers to opt for official channels when purchasing MADRIX products to avoid potential pitfalls associated with pirated software, such as the inability of obtaining effective product supports and a series of problems and risks, such as data security vulnerabilities, system instability, malware and other viruses.
Having already made huge investment in the fight against counterfeiters, Hertel acknowledged that for real success, a concerted effort among the whole industry would be necessary. “In previous years, we developed an Anti-Counterfeit Alliance with several companies – including MA Lighting – to help tackle this issue,” he concluded. “Although most of the interactions occurred in a group chat, the alliance members successfully exchanged valuable information to more efficiently combat counterfeiting.”
Words: Stew Hume
Photos: MADRIX
