Open Letter to the Global Bicycle Industry
To Whom it May Concern:
What industry can reach its potential without being well informed about the myriad of national, state, and local laws that affect it?
Last March, Bicycle Retailer and Industry News reported that U.S. brake company Hayes and its Taiwanese supplier, Muchachos International, settled their long-standing trademark dispute. Hayes’ trouble began when Muchachos registered the HAYES trademark in Taiwan and, after their relationship soured, forced Hayes to change the name of its own product line. We can all appreciate Hayes' outrage at losing its brand in Taiwan, especially after spending so much time and money building it in the U.S. But had Hayes taken the relatively inexpensive step of registering its trademark in Taiwan and executing a license with its supplier, its nightmare would have been avoided. Perhaps Hayes didn’t know how to protect itself overseas or, due to a lack of resources, decided to take a “calculated” risk. This scenario is all too common, and simply highlights the need for the cycling industry to be well informed about its legal rights and responsibilities.
There are more than 2,000 companies in the American cycling industry alone—a $ 6 billion dollar business, according to the most recent National Sporting Goods Association study. Bicycle companies range in size from household names such as Trek, Specialized and SRAM to niche brands such as Kona, Pedros and Planet Bike. Startups, like Los Angeles-based fixie designer Wabi Cycles, are joining the industry every day. As the general public continues to embrace the health, environmental and economic benefits of cycling, more companies will emerge and hopefully thrive.
All cycling companies, regardless of size, need to understand and take advantage of the laws and regulations that impact their business operations, marketing and sales. Some of the legal issues cycling companies routinely face involve intellectual property rights, such as patents, trademarks and counterfeit goods; products liability, including consumer products safety recalls; false adverting; distribution deals, liability waivers and general corporate issues. In the current economy, more companies have been confronted with complicated bankruptcy laws. Just recently Dorel purchased Iron Horse’s assets for $5.2 million at a bankruptcy auction. And as Nashbar recently discovered, etailers must know what to do when they are victims of credit card fraud. In fact, all companies who collect information about their customers need to implement policies to avoid security breaches that compromise customer information (and thus consumer confidence).
Presumably, companies such as Hayes, Dorel, Iron Horse, and Nashbar had legal counsel at some point, at least after a legal issue became unavoidable. Industry giants often have company lawyers to obtain patents, negotiate contracts, and litigate disputes, but in the midst of a recession they face resource shortfalls just like any other cycling company. Smaller and younger cycling companies are often so cash-strapped they have no choice but to cut corners, which typically leads to greater exposure to liability. So how can cycling companies, established and emerging alike, avoid costly legal pitfalls like the one Hayes recently experienced when it lost its brand in Taiwan?
Bridge the gap. There is a fundamental gap between the cycling industry and the laws and regulations that determine whether and to what extent companies will succeed or fail. While there is no shortage of membership groups that advocate for individual cyclists or increasing sales, there never has been an industry association focused on educating cycling companies on important laws and regulations affecting their industry. Now, there is.
This month we launched the International Cycling Law Association (ICLA). The Association’s mission is to provide cycling companies with timely, valuable information about legal issues affecting their business. We’ll do it through regular publications, interactive workshops and conferences. We’ll provide outreach programs for targeted non-profits and start-up cycling companies. And we’ll work with the cycling industry to advocate on key legal issues and provide networking opportunities for our members to meet and share their knowledge and experiences.
This organization will be membership driven and, like the cycling industry itself, international in scope. In short, it will bridge the gap between the emerging needs of a growing, global business sector and the complicated legal and regulatory environments in which that industry operates. In so doing, the ICLA will unify and strengthen the industry in the years to come. This is the mission of the International Cycling Law Association (ICLA), and it’s happening right now, from the ground up.
To learn more, check out our Facebook page and leave a comment.
Sincerely,
Eric T. Fingerhut
Founder