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Vista System International - 10/1/2007
Vista System’s Lawsuit Regarding Signage Piracy Yields Success
Vista System International, a pioneer and world leader in Modular Curved Frame Technology (MCFT) with US
based operations in Sarasota, Florida, has recently reached a settlement of a lawsuit filed against its former
Canadian distributor who it believed copied its sign system. As a result, the distributor agreed to cease to use
any of Vista System’s marketing materials and brand names and not to sell any of Vista’s designs whatsoever
after September 29, 2007.
Vista System filed a lawsuit, last March, against its Canadian distributor, The Gryph Group, who it believed had
copied its system and had manufactured almost exact replicas of its extrusions and end caps and passed them
off as an original Vista System brand product. The defendant was also believed to have been using original
Vista System printed literature, proprietary software, and images to support its products.
The Gryph Group, has agreed to settle the lawsuit and not violate Vista's rights. The minutes of settlement that
were agreed to by Vista System and The Gryph Group state, amongst other things, that The Gryph Group shall
immediately stop using the name Vista, and similar names, colors and logos to those of Vista System. The Gryph
Group is also to destroy any Vista System marketing materials in its possession and to modify its extrusions so as
to distinguish its products from Vista’s products.
According to Roger Schneider, Vista System’s vice president: "Product piracy is a severe problem for the
signage and other industries. Trademarks, patents, copyrights and other commercial and design rights are
systematically breached on a daily basis. Worldwide, this trend has a dangerous impact on the sign industry. It
discourages future innovations and has reached such an extreme in some countries where the signage industry
has become tainted with cheap copies of quality brands. I hope that our action against and settlement with The
Gryph Group will discourage piracy in the field, and encourage victims of piracy to take legal action. Vista will
not hesitate in the future to take prompt and effective actions to assure that Vista's proprietary rights are
protected and that products sold under the name Vista are of the best and finest quality."
www.vistasystem.com
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