Bridgestone Sues GPX International Over ‘Knock-Offs’

At the beginning of February, GPX International was sued by Bridgestone over a range of tyres for forestry vehicles that the Japanese manufacturer said infringed its rights. Bridgestone accused GPX of unfairly competing by its Firestone Rock Master brand name and advertising slogans.

Following the accusations GPX published an official statement “strongly denying” the accusations, which it said were an attempt to “besmirch its reputation.” The manufacturer said it was not aware that the Rock Master name was trade marked and has voluntarily “removed all reference to Rock Master from its website and will change the name of the tyres currently produced under the Rock Master name.”

GPX also said it intends to fully explore its claims against Firestone for business slander and anti-competitive activity. The company believes that the lawsuit, which included further allegations, was filed by Firestone solely in an attempt to discredit GPX in the marketplace.

Firestone specifically claims that GPX copied its “Six Bolt Imprint” design. According to GPX, this design was originally used on tyres produced by United Tire in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Robert Sherkin, the current chairman of GPX, was a member of the senior management team at United Tire for over 20 years until 1993. “The reason for the “Six Bolt” design was that United produced the 68/50-32 forestry tyre in two different tread depths. This was done with removable tread blocks that were bolted into the mold. The “Six Bolt Imprint” was the unavoidable consequence of having to attach tread blocks with bolts. When Firestone subsequently produced this size, they copied United’s tyre,” the statement read.

For its part GPX says that the tyres produced by GPX today, which Firestone claims are infringing on its six-bolt design, are in fact produced from this original United Tire mould which was sent to China in 1986 as part of a joint venture with the municipality of Tianjin.

GPX has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 37 per cent over the last five years. According to Bloomberg, Bridgestone/Firestone holds a 90 per cent market share in the US forestry segment.