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| CONSUMER SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ZODIAC PAINTBALL CONCERNING COUNTERFEIT PAINTBALL GUNS |
| News - Latest |
| Saturday, 18 February 2012 21:18 |
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ShareZodiac Paintball, creators of the ZR1 paintball marker, have recently become aware that there may be several hundred UNAUTHORIZED COPIES of their paintball gun – including proprietary components – entering the paintball market in the United States. Zodiac Paintball would like consumers to be aware of the presence of these markers, methods to identify them and its policies regarding them. In late 2010, Zodiac Paintball contracted with a Taiwan-based manufacturing company – Qi Jiang Technologies LTD/NY Industry LTD/Machine Paintball, (the company has had numerous name changes) owned by Michael Spurlock, Wu Chin Min, Tsao Ying-Tse, Yeng Chen Wen – to perform manufacturing services for producing the ZR1 paintball gun and associated force-feed loader. That manufacturing agreement included the specifications for the gun and the terms under which Zodiac would pay for the markers, the manufacturer’s responsibility for meeting the required specifications and the methods by which Zodiac and the manufacturer would resolve disputes. It was additionally agreed that Zodiac Paintball would provide the manufacturer with certain components supplied by third parties to incorporate into the marker. Those components supplied by third parties included proprietary electronics. Without getting into laborious detail: Zodiac subsequently refused to accept delivery of nearly 300 guns due to repeated failures on the manufacturer’s part to correct machining errors. (A partial list of the contracted specifications and what was actually produced by Qi Jiang Technologies/NY Industry LTD/Machine Paintball, is available upon request.) Zodiac initiated proceedings that invoked non-delivery penalties on Qi Jiang Technologies/NY Industry LTD/Machine Paintball and ultimately requested the return of third-party components. Following numerous delays, it became apparent that Qi Jiang Technologies/NY Industry LTD/Machine Paintball was not returning the components and was not going to correct the manufacturing errors, forcing Zodiac Paintball to, among other things, begin filing claims for stolen property as well as other actions designed to protect their design and property. While this was on-going (through 2011 and into the beginning of 2012), individuals associated with Zodiac Paintball were made aware of an offer from individuals associated with Qi Jiang Technologies/NY Industry LTD/Machine Paintball to supply several hundred electronic paintball guns for re-sale. Based on the proprietary nature of the gun being offered and subsequent investigation, it became apparent that the guns being offered were the same as those Zodiac Paintball had refused to take delivery of. Finally; Zodiac Paintball has learned that several other individuals in various locations in the United States were also offered these guns for sale and that one or more of those individuals may have made arrangements to accept delivery of them. The non-working, non-specification copies of the ZR1 paintball gun that Zodiac Paintball refused to accept delivery of from Qi Jiang Technologies/NY Industry LTD/Machine Paintball are not the property of Qi Jiang Technologies/NY Industry LTD/Machine Paintball and are not theirs to re-sell. Not only do they remain the property of Zodiac Paintball, but they contain several patent-pending, proprietary components (critical to proper functioning) that either remain the sole property of Zodiac Paintball or were licensed by Zodiac Paintball for their ZR1 markers and not for use with anyone else’s markers. Due to all of the foregoing, Zodiac Paintball feels it has a responsibility and an obligation to the paintball industry and paintball consumers to take the following steps: 1. Zodiac Paintball requests that all current owners of ZR1 paintball markers contact the company to obtain upgraded components. The upgrades will correct certain manufacturer’s flaws (errors Qi Liang Technologies/NY/Machine Paintball failed to correct during initial manufacturing) and, at the same time, insure that AUTHORIZED ZR1s are easily distinguishable from UNAUTHORIZED copies. 2. Zodiac Paintball will not be responsible for repairs, replacements, maintenance work or upgrades for UNAUTHORIZED copies of ZR1s. Any unauthorized copies of the gun received by Zodiac Paintball, its distributors or retail dealers will be confiscated as stolen property. 3. Representatives of Zodiac Paintball have contacted various league organizations and have requested that they enforce the in-house rules and regulations against the use, sale and distribution of product that infringes on intellectual property at their own events: this may very well result in banning the use of and/or the confiscation of UNAUTHORIZED ZR1s. 4. Because Zodiac Paintball ZR1 paintball markers contain patented and patent-pending technologies, any and all individuals involved in the distribution, sale and use of UNAUTHORIZED ZR1 paintball guns could be subject to legal penalties for patent infringement. Zodiac Paintball regrets that it finds it necessary to make this announcement. Fortunately, there is a simple solution: ONLY purchase a ZR1 paintball marker – the only paintball marker with a wireless connection between the marker and the loader –Zodiac Paintball or its authorized dealers and distributors. A complete list of those authorized to re-sell ZR1 markers is provided on the Zodiac Paintball website. If you have any questions regarding the authenticity of a paintball gun branded as the ZR1 – contact Zodiac Paintball. IF YOU ALREADY OWN A ZR-1 ZODIAC PAINTBALL GUN Immediately contact Zodiac Paintball to insure that your product is registered properly* Make arrangements to have your marker up-graded with in-spec parts Contact fellow players who have ZR-1s and inform them of the current situation Keep an eye out for counterfeits IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON PURCHASING A ZR-1 PAINTBALL GUN Contact Zodiac Paintball for a complete list of authorized dealers & re-sellers BEFORE making your purchase ASK your supplier where they obtained the marker (if it is not on the list, contact Zodiac Paintball) Preferred contact information here: Zodiac Paintball Inc. Ken Hefferle- Director/CFO This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 201-396-1380 |
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