After a year in which his investor pulled out, triggering an Administration process, then buying back the company and restarting, you’d think Dan Stanton might have enough on his plate already. However, according to Dan it appears that a German entrepreneur is attempting to poach Stanton Bicycles’ trademark, and… well… that’s where it gets a bit odd. Or maybe we’re missing something in translation. But here’s what we’ve found.
According to Dan, an order of bikes that was due for delivery from Asia to Stanton Bikes in January/February 2022 was delayed by nearly 8 months. By the time the frames were available, Stanton Bikes was in administration, and the Administrators didn’t want to complete payment on the stock, forfeiting the 30% deposit that had been paid to the factory. This still left the factory out of pocket, and they offloaded the unbranded frames to a buyer. That buyer – or potentially a subsequent buyer, we can’t be sure, but Dan is pretty confident they left the factory unbranded – then had the frames branded up using Stanton branding, including frame names and the crown logo. Some of the decal designs are outdated ones that were used in the early days when frames were finished in Asia, suggesting perhaps that the templates have been sourced there. Stanton’s UK finishing and custom paint shop has been a signature for a number of years.
There is perhaps some similarity here with the ‘Hello Dave’ bikes, which Planet X bought from an Asian supplier after Sick Bicycles ceased to exist and didn’t buy them. Obviously, in that instance the Sick Bicycles brand had ceased to exist (as perhaps the buyer of these frames thought would be the case with Stanton), and Planet X used their own branding on the frames rather anything from Sick – although arguably knowing their provenance was part of the attraction for some. That’s all legitimate, and while it might be frustrating for Dan, had these frames been bought and badged as ‘Hello Dan’ bikes, or somesuch, the taste might be bitter but the legality would be clear. But the use of all the Stanton branding, logos and design potentially takes this into a slightly different realm, where copyright and trademark laws come into play.
These now painted frames are for sale via a German distributor called ‘1bike4life’. Google translate always adds a little flavour to proceedings, but it doesn’t seem like it says anywhere that they didn’t design these bikes. It reads to us as if these are bikes that have come from the factory, and are accompanied by all the usual warranties, crash replacement, and future developments and orders to come – rather than a one-off purchase of a batch of leftovers.
There’s also a German-Stanton instagram site, again using all the Stanton branding, that is promoting the bikes. A pdf linked to from the ‘awards’ section of the 1bike4life site appears to show that a German magazine has reviewed one of these bikes, without any mention of Dan as the designer.
One of the retailers selling the bikes is Bike24, a company familiar to many Forum users. On their site, Dan gets a mention, but it also states that the bikes are ‘Made in their own factory in Derbyshire’. Which is the case for some Stanton frames, but certainly not these ones – indeed, the ‘distributor’ website says the Stanton frame are made in the same factory as their other brands. We emailed Bike24 to enquire about whether these are legitimate Stanton frames, here’s their response:
The frames with the designation “Stanton” are original goods, which are purchased directly in the original design from the Asian manufacturer of these frames.
These frames are also purchased ready labeled and engraved. These frames all have the original frame number and are thus identifiable as such.
These frames were no longer sourced in Asia from Stanton UK due to financial constraints, this even after repeated requests by the supplier.
After the insolvency of Stanton UK, a further cooperation between Stanton UK and the Asian supplier was terminated on the part of the frame producer himself and the continuation of the production orders with 1bike4life Manufaktur Ltd was contractually decided.
For this purpose, 1bike4life Manufaktur Ltd. has entered into the existing purchase obligation for both already produced stock goods and submitted pre-orders.
In the same course, the trademark rights were registered in the EU as well as various third countries such as Switzerland or the USA and the distribution was implemented.
Bike 24
So, they’re telling us they’re Asian made frames. At time of writing, their website is still telling customers they’re made in Derbyshire. They’re also saying they came ready finished. Dan didn’t order them to come finished, and says some of the decal designs are old, so who did the finishing, and who ordered it to be done?
Now here’s where it gets to the legal bit. Bear with us. So far as we can tell, the trademark rights have not, in fact, been registered as widely as stated by Bike24. Instead, there is an application pending which has yet to be approved. Trademarks can be registered in a variety of countries – ‘territories’ – and for different ‘classes’ of goods and services. For example, you might register ‘Gnarpoon’ as a UK trademark for a bike. Someone else could also apply to register ‘Gnarpoon’ as a trademark for a bike in, say, the USA and Europe, or as a piece of fishing equipment in the UK. Pre-existing holders of a ‘Gnarpoon’ trademark in one territory could attempt to object to another territory’s application if it thought consumers would experience ‘brand confusion’. From time to time you’ll see products in one country appear by another name when you go somewhere on holiday. In many of those cases, the trademark rights will have been secured for that territory, meaning the newer applicant is rejected and has to come up with another name.
Dan already has a UK registered trademark for Stanton and the crown logo, and its use for ‘class 12’ (vehicles). While he’s been using it for years, and can demonstrate many years of worldwide sales, it was only formally registered as a UK trademark in October 2022 (the application for it having been made in April 2022). This should however allow Dan to object to the pending claim by Andreas Kirschner, who applied in April 2023 to register the Stanton trademark in the USA and Europe, also for class 12 (vehicles). We presume this is the application to which Bike 24 is referring – it is pending rather than approved.
Dan tells us he will be contesting this, as well as lodging his own claim to register his trademark beyond the UK one he already has. Given that Dan can evidence many years of use of his brand, as well as worldwide sales and the UK trademark, it seems possible that the ‘copycat Stanton’ trademark claim will be unsuccessful. There are other legal avenues like copyright law that may also apply that Dan could pursue. However, it’s all admin and legal expense in the process, which anyone can always do without – and perhaps most of all Dan, as he tried to get the original Stanton Bicycles back on track. Meanwhile, the sellers of these frames would appear to be profiting from Dan’s name.
Is it all just business? Do you see it as fair game and an opportunity to get a cheap (sort of) Stanton frame? Or are these soiled goods, and anyone buying one isn’t really a member of the Stanton Owners Club? Have you unwittingly (or knowingly?) bought one of these frames? How do you feel about it now? Let us know in the comments.
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