We are kite designers and builders.
Some of us develop our new designs professionally to support our
income, and some of us make kites for fun. All of us love what we do
and to share creations with our friends in the kite world. We are
proud of our designs and work very hard to make them.
We are surprised, disappointed, and offended that the German
manufacturer, KEWO, has copied our work and is selling them
commercially. They do this without our permission, without
compensation, and without even giving us credit for the many hours
needed to make a new kite fly.
For many of us, this issue is not about money, but about the simple
idea that stealing our designs for commercial gain is wrong and
should not be tolerated by the kite community. And of course, the
copies are often inferior which makes the problem worse.
We have asked KEWO to stop and they simply ignore our letters and
emails. Some of us only asked that our names be noted as the inventor
of a design and didn't ask for money. KEWO even denied this simple request!
This problem affects all kiters. If we are copied now, you may be
copied in the future. And of course, there is less encouragement for
any of us to work on new designs knowing that a manufacturer with no
sense of honesty or honor can simply steal them.
It is impossibly expensive to patent each new kite design and lawyers
take time and money with uncertain results, especially when dealing
on a global basis.
We prefer to address this in the Court of Kiters rather than a Court of Law.
To ask you not to buy our kites from KEWO is against German law. But
we hope that you will understand our irritation, frustration and
incomprehension.
Please share this news with your kite friends. Tell kite storeowners,
club officers, and event organizers. Please join us in objecting to
KEWO Kopies!
Stealing from one of us is stealing from all of us!
| Robert VanWeers | New Zealand |
| Ludovico Bertozzi | Italy |
| Geoff Cambell | New Zealand |
| Franchesca Caton | United Kingdom |
| Peter Lynn | New Zealand |
| Martin Lester | United Kingdom |
| Charlie Watson | New Zealand |
| Frank Schwiemann | Germany |