Nautilus Inc. Thursday said it has filed two lawsuits in Canadian federal court against companies it accuses of importing counterfeit products.
The Vancouver, Wash.-based manufacturer of fitness equipment (NYSE: NLS) said it was given permission to enter the premises of Montreal-based SC Excel Technology to seize the counterfeit goods and relevant records.
In a news release, SC Excel Technology — facing “overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence” — admitted before Canadian Federal Court Judge Simon Noël that it imported counterfeit products. The company was subsequently prohibited from trading in Nautilus and Bowflex products.
Nautilus has also filed suit in Canadian court against Nutrition Fitness Cardio Inc., alleging trademark, patent and copyright infringement, as well as selling counterfeit goods.
“Faced with an increasing counterfeit problem, Nautilus is adopting more aggressive steps to stop the importation of these products,” said Mark Porter, Nautilus’ counsel on intellectual property matters. “Counterfeit products hurt customers, our authorized dealers and Nautilus.”
