Cobonpue runs after copycats

RSK Furniture would have been another nondescript shop along the national highway to Tagaytay City, except that it allegedly sells products being passed off as those of renowned designer Kenneth Cobonpue.
Lawyer Ann Edillon of the Bengzon Negre Untalan (BNU) law firm quickly identified six original Cobonpue designs that were blatantly copied among the 30 or so units found in RSK’s roughly 100-square-meter display space when agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) swooped down on the shop last Tuesday, Dec. 10.
These include the Noodle, Dragnet and Croissant armchairs, the Yoda barstool, and the Voyage and Yin and Yang daybeds.
Many consider the Voyage to be Cobonpue’s most iconic piece after the design gained global prominence a few years back when popular American actor Brad Pitt bought one. (Pitt is said to have acquired other Cobonpue furniture since then.)
Other Cobonpue works eventually found their way to Hollywood sets, including that for the film “Ocean’s 13,” where Pitt also starred.
Prominently shown on a wall was RSK’s commercial vision: “We costumized all kind of furniture” (sic).
Shopkeeper Ivy Angeles identified the establishment’s owner as a certain Elmer Pamintuan, who she said was in Pampanga at the time of the raid.
NBI agents served a warrant to search the shop to Pamintuan’s son, Ron.
One agent who asked for anonymity said all copies of Cobonpue’s works would be confiscated and used as evidence when a formal charge of copyright infringement is filed in court.
Insiders believe that Cobonpue’s move to prosecute those pirating his designs is a first in the country. No known designer, painter or artist has brought to court an individual or parties accused of copying or faking their works.
Heartache
Cobonpue has had his works hailed in international magazines and has won design awards abroad. The heartache felt by a creator being plagiarized is not new to him.
The designer’s mother, Betty Cobonpue, “was a designer who produced very original furniture that was copied by many factories,” he recalled in a solicited e-mail statement.
“My experience with intellectual piracy goes way back (to when I was) a child… I saw how my mother lost sleep and suffered in silence, helpless because our laws then were inadequate in protecting her,” the designer added.
“Today, intellectual piracy is treated seriously in our country with determined leadership at the IPO (Intellectual Property Office) and our enforcement agencies,” he noted.
Cobonpue said he received reports of “copycats from Angeles (City in Pampanga) to Sta. Rosa” as early as three years ago.
Legal notices were served the businessmen behind these.
“A few of them have decided to settle amicably, but these two companies whom we raided (on Dec. 10) have blatantly ignored the offer to come to the table, so I have no choice but to resort to the legal process,” Cobonpue explained.
The designer vowed to “go all the way to prosecute them in court. This will hopefully serve as a warning to violators who copy not only original Filipino design but in other creative industries like fashion, music, film, literature and the fine arts. We promote ourselves as a creative destination and it’s only right that we protect our creators to encourage others to continually produce original designs.”
While some imitators would rather justify their business as the greatest form of flattery, Cobonpue said a blatant copy shows that those behind have no respect for the labor a designer undertakes in the creative process.
“There is unfortunately no formula for coming up with a design, and that’s why it takes a lot of sweat, hard work and literally pain to come up with something unique,” he said.
“Behind every design are dozens of other designers, engineers, craftsmen and marketing people to ensure it sees the light of day. It takes at least a year to produce a design. The copycat shortcuts all of these and feeds off our hard work and energy,” the designer added.
Days before the raid, undercover agents went to RSK and purchased three pieces, including what the NBI agent recalled as a fake Yoda barstool that cost only P17,000.
The receipt issued by RSK would be among the prosecution’s evidence, he said.
“The actual cost of a Cobonpue runs to tens of thousand pesos so murang mura ito,” the agent noted.
Inferior materials
A second NBI agent who also requested anonymity noted, however, that although the fakes looked authentic “sa unang tingin, these are made of inferior materials that are less durable compared to the real products of Mr. Cobonpue.”
“Look at this one,” he told Inquirer  as he approached a red Yoda barstool.
“It is made of plastic that would eventually crack when placed under the sun for a long time,” the second agent said.
The first agent noted that the raid was conducted following a complaint from BNU, known in legal circles for specializing in intellectual property infringement cases, that there are shops blatantly calling attention to their products for being “Cobonpue copies.”
This is a clear copyright infringement based on provisions of the Intellectual Property Code, the first NBI agent quoted the law firm as saying.
A quick ocular of the desk that contained RSK’s business records showed a folder with the marking “Mr. Elmer Pamintuan,” a transparent plastic album with colored photocopies of Cobonpue pieces and one coffee-table book that featured the designer’s works.
There were also leather swatches and samples of rattan and abaca weaves where customers can choose from for made-to-order pieces.
“En route to this store, we noticed that there are other establishments selling fakes. So it’s possible we will conduct other raids, but this is subject to the discretion of our client,” Edillon told the Inquirer.
NBI and BNU conducted a simultaneous raid on a showroom at the Market! Market! Mall in Taguig City when Edillon, et al. were in Sta. Rosa.
Cobonpue has two showrooms: one in Cebu City and another in Pasay Road, Makati City.
“Cobonpue’s designs can be purchased exclusively from these showrooms. These are the only places where you can purchase Kenneth Cobonpue designs. If you see them elsewhere, that’s already a red flag,” Edillon said.
“A fake costs substantially less. Sometimes they use the same materials, sometimes not. Of course the fake’s quality is way more inferior. The quality and craftsmanship, it’s gonna be way less,” she added.
“My mother taught me the value of being honest and original. She was copied left and right. I promised my mother that I would take up the cudgels for her when I grew up, and now it has come full circle,” Cobonpue said.
“I hope to inspire other young people to always create original designs, protect it by law and bring pride to our country,” he said. /InquirerShip operators under fire for refusing to give relief discounts
by Jhunnex Napallacan
Correspondent

Residents of typhoon-affected towns in northern Cebu have launched a signature campaign against two shipping companies serving the Bantayan Island route to denounce them for their alleged refusal to grant discounts on relief shipments.
According to Fr. Isidrito Ducay, parish priest of Sto. Niño church in Sta. Fe town, the petition signing has reached the neighboring towns of Bantayan and Madridejos.
He identified the subject of their lobby as Island Shipping Lines while the identity of the other liner is being withheld pending their comment on the issue.
The petition is  addressed to Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III and the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina). The petitioners want the agency to  review the operation of the two firms.
Alex Tan, owner of Island Shipping Co. cried foul over accusations that they were being “un-Christian” for refusing to deliver relief goods for free or at a discount, saying they were the first to deliver relief goods to northern Cebu towns for free.
Fr. Ducay said more than 500 of his parishioners have already signed the petition which they forwarded to the Sta. Fe municipal council.
He said Msgr. Boboy Romanillos also started the signature campaign during his Mass yesterday,
Ducay also planned to initiate the signature campaign in the Madridejos town parish this week.
Ducay said he referred the issue to the parish pastoral council after several people and groups complained to him about the two shipping firms which ply the Hagyana San Remigio to Santa Fe Bantayan island route.
Ducay said a group that wanted to ferry two trucks worth of relief goods to the island were told by one of the companies to pay P2,500 per truck.
As a result, the  group decided to transport just one truck. The second truck was rerouted to Daanbantayan town. When the group went back to mainland Cebu, their truck was again charged P2,500, Ducay claimed.
Ducay said members of the Order of Malta from Manila with some foreign members, also brought in four container vans of relief goods to the island and they were asked to pay in full late last Saturday.
Tan said his company distributed relief goods to three towns of Bantayan and San Remigio town for the first few days and then gave a 20 percent discount on succeeding deliveries.
He said the group of actor Robin Padilla can prove that they ferried the their relief goods for free in the first week after supertyphoon Yolanda hit northern Cebu.
Tan said the second delivery of Padilla’s group was given a 20 percent discount.
He said those who complained against the company may not have coordinated with their Cebu City office.
“It’s painful that they called me and my company un-Christian because that’s not true,” Tan  said.
He said there are groups who seek discounts or freebies from their office even if they were carrying commercial cargo.
Tan said 60 percent of their gross income goes to pay for fuel while the remaining 40 percent goes to salaries, food and the maintenance of the vessels.  He said the national government didn’t even subsidize their fuel expenses.
“I didn’t set up my shipping company for charity, that’s a business. But I will give discounts so I can help even if I don’t earn anything back,” Tan said.
Tan said he’s willing to undergo investigation by the Cebu provincial government and the Marina and added that Msgr. Ducay may have received the wrong information from the petitioners.