Creations of the human mind, whether they are inventions, songs or visual art works, are easier to copy than to create. Kun shoulder Rest has set the standard in shape, design and materials for more than 35 years and Kun innovations are patented and trademarked around the world. As a result, Kun is recognized as the leader in shoulder rest design and technology.

The underpinnings of Kun’s success in the shoulder rest field are its commitment of time and financial resources to research and develop creative new ideas, to produce the tools to realize them and to promote them through marketing and advertising.

Patents are awarded to encourage and safeguard this process. They protect inventors by giving them the right to exclude others from making, using, selling or offering for sale the patented invention for the life of the patents.

Nonetheless, an unfortunate by-product of Kun’s position in the marketplace are the many would-be shoulder rest manufacturers who attempt to copy our patents and trademarks. This obliges us to constantly monitor the marketplace for such infringements and violations.

For instance, one very significant development which the producers of “Kun” copies regularly attempt to replicate is our patented folding mechanism which we call the Collapsible. Shapes can also indicate source of origin. A common example of a distinctive 3-dimensional shape is the glass Coca Cola bottle. The Kun shape incorporated in our rests comprises our trademarked distinguishing appearance. The public relies upon Trademarks to indicate the source of origin of the goods covered by that trademark. Some of these copiers also try to confuse the public about the origin of their products by referring to their copies as “Original”, “Collapsible” etc. which are Kun trademarks.

Almost all shoulder rests in the marketplace are “variations on a theme”—that is copies based on Kun-developed features.

Patent and trademark infringement are serious legal issues which undermine the efforts of all inventors. Moreover they create legal difficulties for both the producers of these copies and the companies that sell them. Indeed, wholesalers or ratailers are often unaware that anyone who offers for sale or uses infringing products has an equal legal responsibility and liability for the infringements.

At Kun, we embrace genuine invention and creative ideas, and welcome true competition. For that reason we appreciate the efforts of all distributors, retailers and users who reject other companies’ attempts to capitalize on our developments. Their integrity protects the integrity of our industry and encourages innovation that will truly benefit musicians. Permitting and assisting exploiters to freely copy a patented or trademarked invention brings innovation to a halt.