Hyundai booth raided at German tech fair

The Hyundai IT booth at the IFA electronics fair in Berlin got some unwanted visitors on Saturday: German customs police.

Police seized flat-screen TVs from the South Korean company's booth as visitors watched, according to Reuters. The raid followed Thursday's German court ruling that Hyundai IT and other companies were planning to display unlicensed patented tech at the fair, Reuters said. A customs official told the wire service that 69 raids had been authorized.

The official wouldn't name the other companies but said about 170 TVs, 140 digital audio players, 21 cell phones, and 57 DVD recorders had been seized so far, Reuters said. The wire service said that Hyundai could not immediately be reached for comment.

IFA, which began Friday and runs through Wednesday, is among the largest consumer electronics shows in the world.

[loose_screw]

Is this good for the IFA?

[gerrrg]

I think the Germans are eventually going to regret this type of heavy-handed treatment, as the show will end up dying and another will take its place somewhere else...eastern Europe perhaps?

They could have handled this backstage before the show opened. By making it public, they're getting Asian firms riled up and the only way to save honor is to stick it to the Germans.

[htcstech]

What is "unlicensed patented tech"? This is a fair and you would expect new technologies to be shown.

[CooperSWorks]

Good for them - there's far too much pilfering of technology from other companies going on, particularly from certain companies and countries. htcstech - unlicensed patented tech is just that - incorporating intellectual property belonging to another company into one's own products and solutions without acquiring a license. As an inventor with about 40 patents to my name I applaud Germany's enforcement of intellectual property rights and would appreciate it if other countries would do the same.

[m.meister]

Will applaud them when someone makes a claim against you and enforcers come out to seize your property first and then inquire later? Perhaps this was a blatant violation, but it isn't clear. According to the story, the seizure is based on a claim that they were "planning to display some questionable technology". Were they selling it? Or just showing off something that might be in dispute? That's some scary stuff.

And it certainly makes Germany look bad. This is not the first time they've raided a technology show. If they had legitimate reasons, then they did a horrible job conveying that fact.

[smith930]

I have to agree with CooperSWorks; this sort of violation is occurring all too often in overseas tech. I work in tradeshows, and some of our clients work very hard to protect their property at these shows. One client found that their own salespeople were selling demonstration units out of their hotel rooms to international buyers. Our medical clients have to follow strict rules on what they are allowed to display, and how they are allowed to display it, by the FDA. They can "preview" new technologies, for example, that have not yet met with approval, but they can't distribute literature on it, or develop sales leads based on it. Security at trade shows is an ongoing project, depending on the venue, the laws of the country, the participants, and the contractors at the show. Competing vendors will attempt to subtly sabotage each others' presentations. I don't view the German government's actions as an "RIAA-like" heavy-handed strike; it sounds more like a much-needed clamp-down on a property rights issue that has spiraled out of control. For a major company to debut technology that they don't own the rights for; that is truly getting out of hand.

[James6501]

Meanwhile, until this gets sorted out the police stations are enjoying the new TV's in their break rooms :)

[m.meister]

This is not the first report of such heavy handed enforcement. Light on the details, so I don't know if the court had overwhelming evidence, or if it was an RIAA-type action (you know, seize first, ask questions later).

In general, patents and copyrights are getting to a point of being so long as to actually stifle innovation. They are used as weapons of big corporations. Ultimately, the system has to change. It no longer protects the little guy, covers too many generic inventions, covers software and lasts far too long. 17 year patents were fine in the 1800's, but 17+ years means that anything after 1991 is still locked up with patents. And copyrights are even worse.

That's just crazy.

[CooperSWorks]

m.meister - you make some good points. Certainly the US Patent Office has been through a period where one might think they'd allow a patent on just about anything. And I agree that 17 years (now 20 years from the date of filing - to harmonize with other countries) is a long time.

Having said that, there are many patents that protect technology that is clearly innovative and "policable" - in other words plain to see. It isn't always necessary to dissect a product and examine its sub-components to tell that the product is in violation.

Another point worth mentioning is that if patents are not enforced by their owners then they fail to be enforceable - you can't just decide to start enforcing a patent years after the industry has adopted the technology you claim to own. While the German customs police action is a very visible form of enforcement it is one way of ensuring that a lawsuit will not be dismissed for failure to enforce.

Finally, consider this - if all companies are free to pirate any technology they please then the innovation that the USA prides its self on is a worthless commercial advantage. This advantage is what allows for the higher salaries enjoyed by domestic workers. If you want to see further erosion of the job market and the high standard of living the USA enjoy (it's all relative) then go ahead and ignore intellectual property law. Just don't go whining when your job is outsourced.

[CooperSWorks]

m.meister - you make some good points. Certainly the US Patent Office has been through a period where one might think they'd allow a patent on just about anything. And I agree that 17 years (now 20 years from the date of filing - to harmonize with other countries) is a long time.

Having said that, there are many patents that protect technology that is clearly innovative and "policable" - in other words plain to see. It isn't always necessary to dissect a product and examine its sub-components to tell that the product is in violation.

Another point worth mentioning is that if patents are not enforced by their owners then they fail to be enforceable - you can't just decide to start enforcing a patent years after the industry has adopted the technology you claim to own. While the German customs police action is a very visible form of enforcement it is one way of ensuring that a lawsuit will not be dismissed for failure to enforce.

Finally, consider this - if all companies are free to pirate any technology they please then the innovation that the USA prides its self on is a worthless commercial advantage. This advantage is what allows for the higher salaries enjoyed by domestic workers. If you want to see further erosion of the job market and the high standard of living the USA enjoy (it's all relative) then go ahead and ignore intellectual property law. Just don't go whining when your job is outsourced.

[rich_hendrix]

The Korean car manufacturer must have some enemies out there. Do you think it might just be sour grapes of a competitor that blew the whistle? Rabid technology clones gone wild. Humm, this sounds like a new video game. "Patent Cops Revenge, Part 2".

[CooperSWorks]

Referring to Hyundai as a car company is about the same as calling GE an appliance company. True (for now) but far from the full story.

[TogetherinParis]

I provided the story for Titanic and made substantial creative contributions for 18 of the top 20 movies in the USA since 1977. I got a dollar and some tape recorder tapes for the cave solo for Dead Poets Society, and that's it. The patent/copyright system in the US is a total sham which actually encourages stealing and only protects and enriches thieves. It should be abolished. Draconian criminal laws in the USA against intellectual property theft might staunch it? If the Steven Spielbergs of this world were arrested, convicted, and executed, we might have a fair system, but then, could we really enjoy the shows after that?

Ross C. "Bubba" Nicholson
Tampa, Florida

[binaryspiral75]

The police have a list of make/models of gear that are using technology without paying for it. They peruse the conferences and confiscate the equipment.

This isn't Hyundai's fault specifically unless they bought the gear knowing that it was using unlicensed patents. And then - how can you confirm your gear is fully licensed?

Yet another paycheck for a corporate lawyer... now before I purchase a flatscreen or projector for my school I'll have to pay a bloodsucking bottom feeder to research the legal crap to make sure some techno-swat team takes my gear.