Accept No Imitations
In 1993 Mitsubishi Electric became the world's first company to develop and sell a new type of hand dryer that blows jets of air on both sides of the hand, pushing water off rather than evaporating it. The concept is now recognised for its efficiency and hygiene benefits, which has led to several companies trying to imitate the Jet Towel design. These imitations may be lower quality and more prone to failure.
As a recent lawsuit in Belgium proves, some of the competitor products on the market are imitating Mitsubishi Electric's technology.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation reached a settlement with Go All Sprl on October 27 in the commercial court of Brussels, Belgium. The lawsuit, filed on September 23, claimed infringement of Mitsubishi Electric's intellectual property right (IPR) by certain Go All hand dryers sold in Europe (Eco Dryer 4 All White, EOLE, etc.), based on EU's Registered Community Design No. 001811746-0001, which protects the appearance of hand dryers.
In the settlement, Go All entirely admits that some of its hand dryers use Mitsubishi Electric's intellectual property, and agrees to destroy the infringing products and discontinue their sale in Europe.
Mitsubishi Electric has also filed IPR infringement lawsuits in China against Taizhou Dihour Electrical Appliances Co., Ltd., a hand dryer manufacturer, and its sales subsidiary, Shanghai Jiecheng Electrical Appliances Co.,Ltd., demanding that they stop manufacturing and selling their infringing hand dryers.
Replica hand dryer products will not be subjected to the same stringent R&D and testing process as the Mitsubishi Electric Jet Towel. This means that they may not offer the same performance or have the same access to on-going customer support and spare parts availability.
About Mitsubishi Jet Towel
Mitsubishi Electric's first Jet Towel was launched in 1993 and the version now available in Europe is in the eighth generation of its development. It has proved a winner with installers for its high tech elegance, with operators for its low running cost and reliability, and with users for its convenience, speed, hygiene and innovative design. The Jet Towel has high environmental credentials, avoiding the use of paper towels or rolled cloth and lowering power consumption and noise levels to a fraction of alternative hot air dryers.
Website: www.jettowel.co.uk.
