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MARTIAL ART INSTRUCTORS HIT WITH $115,560 JUDGMENT
August 17, 2015 Judge Robert Mariani issued a permanent injunction restraining Eric Kovaleski, Robert Kovaleski and ANYONE ELSE acting in concert with them from infringing MOO DUK KWAN® trademarks and he also entered a $115,560 judgment against Eric Kovaleski, Robert Kovaleski and Tang Soo Karate School, Inc. for Infringing MOO DUK KWAN® trademarks
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MARTIAL ART INSTRUCTOR CHARGED AND ARRESTED FOR TRADEMARK COUNTERFEITING
New York martial art instructor Sung Yoon had engaged in trademark counterfeiting and distribution of trademark counterfeited rank certificates for quite some time without being detected.He issued certificates to his students bearing registered trademarks affixed without a license from the trademark owners. His students trusted him and believed him until an instructor contacted one of the organizations they had received rank certificates from to confirm that their rank certificate was legitimate; however, it was not.
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PHONIES, FRAUDS AND THIEVES
The trademark counterfeiting business is booming! Check out the trademark counterfeits at the bottom of this page.Phonies, frauds and thieves are thriving in an industry that is driven by greed, disregard for the rights and reputations of others and by consumers with low self esteem.
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DOES A MARTIAL ART ORGANIZATION TRADEMARK MATTER?
The instruction of a martial art to a student occurs in different ways by different instructors and thus the skills achieved by students vary with the diligence and eagerness of the student and the competency of the instructor.One can learn martial art techniques from instructors at any number of martial art schools, so does the trademark an instructor uses to advertise their instruction services really make any difference?
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TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT THROUGH THE MAIL CAN GET YOU 20 YEARS IN PRISON
A statement released by Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, says Bernard Gernay of Howell, N.J., Bradley Horne of Sunset, S.C., and Jarrod Oldridge of Las Vegas acknowledged that they altered jerseys obtained from retail outlets and other sources to make them appear to be used in games by pro athletes, substantially increasing their value.The maximum prison sentence for mail fraud is 20 years.
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CONSUMER FRAUD IN MARTIAL ARTS
Consumer fraud by a martial art school or instructor begins when material fact is misrepresented in web pages, advertising, signage and verbal claims when registered trademarks are used without a license from the trademark owner.Fraud by a martial art school may be perpetrated upon students for years through the use of counterfeit patches, issuance of counterfeit rank certificates, the sale or distribution of other counterfeit products and/or services and other means. In the martial arts realm multiple trademark infringers and trademark counterfeiters may act together in the commission of their activities.
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IDENTIFY QUESTIONABLE CIRCUMSTANCES
When material fact is misrepresented to consumers by trademark infringers and/or trademark counterfeiters elements of consumer fraud are present.The Martial Art Fraud website provides information to help you learn how to identify and verify if fraud is being perpetrated by a martial arts school and then how to report the facts and activities you discover.Fact based allegations of fraud are most likely to be taken seriously and responded to by law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Legally proving fraud requires facts to support several elements of proof and we discuss some means you can employ to determine if elements of fraud are present. Lets get started.
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Many of us tend to trust before trust is earned and only later question when unexpected events occur. Unquestioning, “trusting” behavior is exactly what fraudsters, scam artists and con artists count on; they count on their victims failing to perform any due diligence process. Unfortunately, some people may spend more time conducting due diligencecomparing prices for a new television set purchase an they do on a studio or instructor to whom they plan to entrust their own safety or that of their child.
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