TAJIMA / Tajima group official site

I

t’s clear that Chinese manufacturers and merchants derive incredible profits from what is nothing more than a Wild West Show when it comes to knock-off goods. As for the consumer’s participation, if you know what you are getting and have managed your expectations accordingly, it’s no big deal. You won’t cry when that fake Gucci bag explodes after three or four days. Or that knock-off Rolex stops ticking all of a sudden. However, when you’re running an embroidery business and your customers are depending on you to meet their quality standards and critical deadlines, using counterfeit machines, parts, and even software to run your business is a crime in more ways than you may think. Bowing to the illegalities of buying pirated products is ethically and morally wrong and harmful to your business, your customers and your reputation. Not only do pirated goods steal profits from rights-holders’ bottom line, but on a long term basis they serve to lower the perception of the brand’s quality, which may have taken decades and countless dollars to create, and maintain. This battle is so important that it is now being tackled on international business and diplomatic levels.

Tajima’s Control Panel with “F”function key that shows real time display of embroidery during the actual sewing, a patented feature.

Tajima’s Wide Cap Frame Ring is a critical part of the system that has become the industry standard.

Patented Take-Up Lever Guard is being copied illegally by Chinese manufacturers.

How Piracy Hurts the Embroidery Professional

---

  In the embroidery industry, Chinese knockoffs of a premium Japanese engineered machine such as a Tajima are substandard in a number of important ways. While these machines may be sold in China and are of acceptable quality for the Chinese domestic marketplace, these pirate manufacturers use inferior materials that contribute to poor quality sewing. Remember, all you need is a little shake on the pantagram to throw off the entire sew-out, especially with tight registration designs. The result is either a very upset client, or perhaps hundreds of garments being thrown away because of shoddy embroidery. This lack of quality materials is combined with the second-hand engineering used to assemble the equipment. Invariably you can expect the unexpected: breakdowns at the most inopportune times. As a premier manufacturer of quality machines and attachments, Tajima understands the nuances far better than manufacturers who copy and maybe even short-cut important functions within the equipment. And even if you find a technician who can figure out how to fix the problem, after a few visits the cost of repairs will soon outstrip the savings on the machine. If it is a disposable machine that you are looking for, then these counterfeit units are your answer. But unless your business is disposable too, who really wants that?

Tajima’s Win in the Courts

---

Practically every major equipment innovation used by embroidery professionals worldwide has come out of the R&D labs and manufacturing divisions of Tajima.

    That’s why this past fall’s U.S. District Court patent infringement win for Tajima against Feiya America, the U.S. arm of a Chinese manufacturer of embroidery machines, was so critical. It was another clear indication that rights holders of intellectual capital such as Tajima will continue to be protected both domestically and internationally. The particular patent infringements that Tajima pursued through the legal system amounted to eight major innovations that were copied without permission by Feiya. These included:

• • Patent # 4943906 Issued on July 24, 1990
• • Patent # 4960061 Issued on October 2, 1990
• • Patent # 5001996 Issued on March 26, 1991
• • Patent # 5065682 Issued on November 19, 1991
• • Patent # 5261338 Issued on November 16, 1993
• • Patent # 5553560 Issued on September 10, 1996
• • Patent # 5655471 Issued on August 12, 1997
• • Patent # 5809918 Issued on September 22, 1998

… it is critical that industry innovators such as Tajima be protected, if only to make it worthwhile for further investment in new technologies that increase productivity and capabilities, and save costs…

    Practically every major equipment innovation used by embroidery professionals worldwide has come out of the R&D labs and manufacturing divisions of Tajima, and in fact the company owns over 170 international patents. Together, these patents represent some of the best known and most important innovations in the history of electronic embroidery. For example, the ones cited above include advances such as the Tajima Control Panel with “F” function key; real time display of embroidery during the actual sewing; pack setting; editing data during embroidery including order of color change, reducing or enlarging embroidery designs, design repeat and more; one-touch Wide Cap Frame; Wide-Cap Drive Ring, an integral part of the Tajima Wide-Cap System; the Middle Thread Guide with Thread Take Up Lever that vastly improves sewing quality with a variety of threads; the Take Up Lever Guide that prevents threads from tangling; and the Tajima Frame Driving System. Many major manufacturers respect these patents by having cross licensing and royalty arrangements with Tajima in order to use Tajima technology in their machines, and in turn Tajima has licensed these technologies to competitors to broaden the benefit to the market while making its fair share of profit off of the investment in R&D. However, Chinese manufacturers have no such relationships with Tajima, and have ignored repeated requests for negotiation. As an ongoing business strategy that apparently is yielding significant results, Tajima is investigating the unauthorized usage by Chinese manufacturers of what seems to be the Tajima high speed sequins attachment device, as well as other infringements.

What This Means for the Embroidery Professional

---

  Just like in other industries, it is critical that industry innovators such as Tajima be protected, if only to make it worthwhile for further investment in new technologies that increase productivity and capabilities, and save costs... providing greater opportunities for the industry as a whole. This is the clear benefit from a decision such as the one handed down to Feiya and why the majority of companies that are using stolen technologies should be very concerned that payback is coming rapidly... as delivered by the courts. And what can you do? Very simple: make sure you are purchasing equipment, parts and software only from legal, authorized dealers. Not only is it the right behavior from both a legal and moral standpoint, but it will benefit your future business and protect the health of the industry in which you have placed your livelihood and the well being of your family.