Abloy UK has released a whitepaper highlighting the importance of key copy protection and what it sees as the misleading claims associated with the practice.
‘Dispelling the Myth: Misleading Claims Around Key Copy Protection’, provides a best practice guide to intellectual property for products, covering trademarks, design registrations and patents.
The whitepaper also provides an example of when one party’s claims around a trademark on a key profile was challenged, the outcome, and the wider implications for the industry and those seeking a reliable and secure cylinder locking solution.
Steve Wintle, Head of CNI, Abloy UK, explained: “When investing in a new cylinder system, many overlook the availability of additional keys. Only a patent protects against keys being duplicated without the owner’s consent or knowledge.
“A number of suppliers have claimed to have key copy protection using trademark and design registrations, which is misleading. Statements such as ‘Unlimited trademark protection’ and ‘the key profile is protected by a registered trademark’ do not cover the functional element of the key.
“Our aim with this whitepaper is to inform individuals on this topic, offering a clear and practical approach to tackling this issue. We hope those who are considering investing in a new cylinder system find our latest whitepaper useful and understand from reading it why it is so important to invest in a solution that is patent protected. This will help to protect a site and people against a security risk that they may be unaware of.”
To learn more, and to read and download the white paper, go to: https://bit.ly/3aa8ttL.
