CASETiFY sued on copyright dispute: How companies might support uniqueness more effectively
Following a federal lawsuit brought by YouTuber Zack Nelson, aka “JerryRigEverything,” and device skin manufacturer Dbrand accusing CASETiFY of replicating the designs of their Teardown goods, CASETiFY has defended itself.
Dbrand and Nelson collaborated on the skins and cases back in 2019. Nelson claimed that he and Dbrand “went to extreme lengths to ensure that every Teardown skin is an accurate representation” of the interior of each device in a YouTube video posted last Friday.
The partners, however, claimed that CASETiFY had developed its “Inside Out” product line after purportedly stealing their Teardown concepts. Nelson stated in the video that CASETiFY’s Inside Out cases have “extraordinarily subpar” print quality, pointing out that one of the covers has Dbrand’s logo on it.
He added that the labels on the cases are copies of one that can be seen on Teardown items and bears Nelson’s famous line, “glass is glass, and glass breaks.” Dbrand said in the action, which was submitted to a Toronto court, that 45 Inside Out items by CASETiFY violated its copyrighted works.
In an interview with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, CASETiFY stated that it takes great pride in its legacy as a champion of uniqueness. The business is looking into a copyright claim that has been made against it. The disputed design was promptly taken down from all platforms.
A denial-of-service attack (DDOS) disrupted our website at the same time that the allegation surfaced. Now, everything is operating normally. Every customer’s information is secure. We appreciate all of your supportive messages during this trying time, the statement said.
Social perceptions
According to media analytics firm CARMA, the legal battle between Dbrand and CASETiFY has received a lot of media attention—more than 80,000 mentions in the last seven days. Out of all the social media sites, X (previously Twitter) was the one that received the most mentions. On Dbrand and Nelson’s official X page, online users poured out their support and critiqued CASETiFY’s actions and response.
According to Charles Cheung, HK GM of CARMA, many thought that the inclusion of Nelson’s tagline, “Glass is glass and glass breaks,” on CASETiFY’s product was one of the most compelling pieces of evidence supporting CASETiFY’s design theft. Furthermore, numerous observers emphasised that CASETiFY’s assertion of a DDoS attack was really merely a significant spike in website traffic.
Over the course of the previous four days, social monitoring company Meltwater saw over 5.33k mentions of the incident across APAC social platforms, with 33.4% of those talks being unfavourable and 8.4% being good. Online sentiments in Hong Kong are 17.1% positive and 48.1% negative.
According to Nikhil Kharoo, a former Google and WPP communications specialist, CASETiFY’s answer may be interpreted as a last-ditch effort to save the brand’s reputation, but it also implies mistakes made during the process that could have a negative impact on the company.
“While CASETiFY claims to be a ‘Bastion of Originality’, it is at the same time removing products with alleged design copies from the website which directly counters its brand spirit of celebrating individuality,” he stated.
He continued, “It may lose out on some customers and need to rebuild its connection with its audience because it is a brand built on social recommendation and credibility and because a large portion of its audience is Gen Z, who like brands to be honest, transparent, trustworthy, and ethical in communication.”
According to Lulu Raghavan, vice president, APAC, Landor, “if the copyright allegation is true, it does put a question mark on how much “inspiration” its designers seek from other brands.” This is because the CASETiFY brand is known for innovation, creativity, and self-expression.
She continued, “It may affect its operations and consequently its ability to continue bringing new innovations to the market if it is found guilty of copyright violation and has to pay up a large amount.”
Additionally, according to Doris Wu, senior strategist at Design Bridge and Partners in Hong Kong, and Ambrish Chaudhry, head of strategy for SEA and India, CASETiFY may face difficulties in the future as it searches for collaborative partners.
“Designers are strong supporters of individuality, and as such, they could be reluctant to collaborate with CASETiFY. This can have a negative effect on CASETiFY’s company because artist participation encourages purchases among its current clientele, the spokesperson continued.
Joshua Chu, a lawyer and the group chief risk officer of Coinllectibles, asserted that Dbrand’s choice to sue CASETiFY for copyright infringement is a calculated action to safeguard its intellectual property rights.
Dbrand is defending its rights and pursuing just compensation for the purported violation, he claimed, by filing a lawsuit.
How can companies encourage greater authenticity and uniqueness in their products?
According to Landor’s Raghavan, businesses with a creative culture need to have well-defined procedures for commercialising their creativity.
Before being made public, “ideas and other verbal and visual assets must be thoroughly examined for trademark and copyright violations,” the speaker continued.
These occurrences are inevitable even with checks and balances. According to her, companies need to embrace their vulnerability, tell customers the truth about what happened, and act quickly to address it.
More emphasis on transparency is necessary if brands wish to promote uniqueness and emphasise it as a core brand value, according to Wu and Chaudhry of Design Bridge & Partners. These steps include showcasing the creative process and sharing the brand’s design narrative.
“To ensure a consistent and impactful brand message that is unique to the brand, originality should be a guiding principle that penetrates all brand decision-making (not just branding and marketing, but also business planning, product innovation, and development),” they stated.
Another strategy to stop copycats is to use emerging technology like artificial intelligence. According to Chu of Coinllectibles, while manual monitoring and other conventional techniques of detection are still widely used, newly developed AI-powered tools can be quite helpful in spotting possible resemblances to published materials.
Regarding public relations, Kharoo stated that a brand’s DNA must include the promotion and sale of “originality,” and that there must be obvious checks and balances to prevent such circumstances since the repercussions are detrimental not just to the reputation of the brand but also to the business as a whole.
“As international intellectual property regulations are rightfully being progressively reinforced, failing to exercise due diligence at any stage could have major legal ramifications. To identify any leaks in such a process, legal, product, marketing, and all other functions involved at various phases of the lifecycle must work together,” he continued.
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