Seizure and Forfeiture Orders were issued by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) against multiple companies attempting to import containers of laminate flooring that infringe upon Unilin’s pioneering glueless locking patents. The offending companies were first warned of Unilin’s General Exclusion Order prohibiting the import of infringing laminate flooring, the company said.

Several years ago, Unilin put in place its “L2C” holographic label program to support its licensees. The L2C program requires Chinese licensees of Unilin and Välinge to attach a unique holographic label to each box of licensed product. The L2C label allows Unilin and Customs to easily identify unlicensed products from those licensed for importation. The program will be extended to more countries soon, the company noted. More information on the L2C label program can be found on L2Clabels.com. 

Christine Walmsley-Scott, legal counsel of Unilin’s IP division stated: “Products with counterfeit labels not only infringe on Unilin’s glueless locking patents, but also infringe on Unilin’s trademarks and copyrights. We are closely working with US Customs Officials and with our attorneys to have such counterfeit products seized. We are therefore advising all buyers and retailers of Chinese glueless locking flooring products to get guarantees from their suppliers that the holographic L2C labels applied to their products are genuine as provided to them by Unilin representatives.”