Bonnington Plastics, the wholesaler of Kingfisher garden and homewares products, is running a free seminar on protecting brands and intellectual property (IP).
The company is running the event with IP experts from law firm Pannone Corporate, which recently helped it win an £80,000 out-of-court settlement with a group of serial infringers.

Now, the Nottingham-based importer wants to share its experiences of the struggle against 'substitute selling' and raise awareness of the issue which it believes is one of the biggest threats to online retailers today.

Over the past 12 months, Bonnington has issued claims against nine companies and their directors for IP violations including trademark infringement, passing off and breach of copyright and has secured settlement pay-outs totalling almost £100,000.

Bonnington managing director Ian Fisher, said: "A couple of years ago, we noticed that a few companies were advertising their own products under Kingfisher listings on Amazon, but we had no idea of the true scale of the problem at that time.

"Some of the companies we've gone after were listing huge numbers of Kingfisher products, and 100% of the items they were supplying under these listings were their own-branded goods.

"I want to share what we've learned and show other companies, especially my customers and competitors, how to protect their brands and stop unscrupulous companies damaging their businesses. This is a problem that we all have to come together to fight. If we don't take action now, there will be no future for any of us."

The seminar will be delivered by Bonnington's in-house legal team and Pannone Corporate specialists, and will feature a demonstration of the software that allows Bonnington to track which companies are selling its products on Amazon and eBay and identify those which are not Bonnington customers.

Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss their own experience of online IP infringement and receive advice from lawyers who have pioneered the approach to tackling this threat to internet retail.

The seminar will be held at Kingfisher House, Glaisdale Parkway, Nottingham NG8 4GP on April 15, 2-4pm. To reserve a place email Aidan@bonningtonplastics.com