Counterfeits/TM Infringement

Why Counterfeits Matter

Counterfeiting is a serious crime. Today, nearly every product with widespread notoriety has become a counterfeiting target, especially when the product is associated with a popular brand name. Aside from being poorly made, counterfeit products can create negative economic, health, and safety consequences for consumers.

We are offering the following information to explain W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company’s trademark rights, show how counterfeit Case products harm the overall marketplace, and help consumers identify and report counterfeit or trademark-infringing products.

Case Trademark Rights

The Case brand has been associated with premium knives from Bradford, Pennsylvania for more than a century. Over time, Case has built an extensive portfolio of trademarks used across our family of brands, including individual Case knife names and even specific product features.

These registration assets, along with Case’s other intellectual property rights, mean that other parties are prohibited from using Case’s proprietary trademarks on knives, accessories, clothing - and any other product not manufactured or authorized by Case.

How to Spot Counterfeit or Infringing Products

Non-Case knives marked with the Case trademark. Look for obvious signs of poor quality manufacturing or features, such as sub-par materials, shoddy work, or misspellings on packaging or product listings. When shopping e-commerce marketplaces like eBay, Mercari, Amazon, etc., and even when shopping on social platforms such as Facebook Marketplace, review the seller’s history and ratings. If the price is surprisingly low compared with genuine Case knives found on our website or in the Case Authorized Dealer marketplace, the product is likely not made with Case’s quality materials or manufacturing practices.

Genuine Case-branded knives with unauthorized decoration or other alteration. Besides violating Case’s trademark rights, these knives may also violate third-party intellectual property rights, expose the user to safety hazards, contain harmful materials, or fall short of Case’s own quality standards. A Case trademark may only be used with genuine, unaltered Case knives shipped from the Case factory or sold through an Authorized Dealer.

Confusing/similar marks. Other parties may not use a mark that is similar to a Case mark to sell or advertise a product in a way that can confuse the customer. If you see a knife sold with a trademark that looks like Case but includes a slight misspelling or any change to the logo, package design or other variation, it is most likely not genuine.

Other unauthorized products. Non-knife products that have not been sold or authorized by Case, but are sold using the Case trademark, are not genuine products and infringe Case’s trademark rights. If you see a product marked with the Case trademark, but it is not also on Case’s official website, it may be a counterfeit product.

Keyword spamming. Keyword spamming is the practice of manipulating marketplace or e-commerce search results by adding unrelated trademarks to a listing to mislead buyers and gain unfair visibility. This generally violates marketplace and/or e-commerce rules.

Why Authorized Products matter

We take great pride in ensuring that all genuine, Case-authorized products meet or exceed our highest safety and quality standards. Products not authorized by Case may not meet those standards, which could erode our reputation and introduce serious product safety issues. In addition, Case’s unique warranty on genuine Case knives does not extend to unauthorized and/or altered products. Be advised that when counterfeit Case knives are sent to Case for evaluation or for repair, we are unable to return them.

How You Can Help

By identifying and reporting counterfeit Case products to us, you are calling out intellectual property theft and the exploitation of consumers and laborers. Deceptive products are meant to fool buyers and are often produced in unsafe facilities with unfair and/or illegal labor practices. All these factors ultimately contribute to the overall rise in consumer prices.

Look carefully at the Case branding on products before you purchase them. If something looks suspicious, do not purchase it - report it to Case. We can investigate these situations and help prevent other consumers from falling victim to similar schemes.

Thank you for helping us reduce counterfeit products in the marketplace for the benefit of all knife owners.