UPDATE
I received my design patent for the drying rack on August 12, 2014. Amazon finally removed the counterfeit drying racks on September 9, 2014. Amazon never contacted the customers who purchased the counterfeit drying racks, so if you think you have one, please contact me. All is good. Don’t mess with mom inventors! annie@mommygenius.com
Mom’s invention STOLEN by Chinese manufacturer
July 10, 2014
I suppose I knew that there were dishonest people in the world who would steal another person’s invention, but I didn’t think it would happen to me. I am a mom with 3 young children who runs a tiny business from her home. I invented the Mommy Genius Drying Rack. This is a versatile kitchen countertop drying rack that dries just about anything including sports water bottles, baby bibs, food storage bags, and dish towels. You can see my drying rack here on amazon. With no business experience whatsoever, it took me a few years to find a manufacturer in the US and get my business started. I began selling this drying rack on Amazon in May 2013, and I make a tiny profit each month. My business is too small for anyone else to mess with, right? Wrong.
On June 21, 2014, I was checking my amazon listing to see if it had gotten any new product reviews. I had been sold out of drying racks for 2 weeks so it should have said “currently unavailable”. However, I was shocked to see that MY drying rack listing said “Sold by Jack Huang and Fulfilled by Amazon”. Here is a screen shot. I immediately contacted amazon and contacted the seller “Jack Huang” hoping that there was some mistake. I also ordered one of Jack Huang’s drying racks.
Jack Huang responded to my message on June 22, 2014 and said,”we think this item is very nice, and it was out of stock, so we decide to buy it from China and sell it here on amazon.” I immediately responded by telling him that he needed to STOP selling them.
I received Jack Huang’s drying rack on Monday June 23, 2014. I opened the box and was stunned to see the drying rack packaged in a plastic bag, with a duplicate of my tags that said “Mommy Genius” and “Made in the USA”. They were even tied on with a blue ribbon just like I use. Not only did they copy my invention, they were trying to pass them off as MY drying racks. These were COUNTERFEIT. Here is a photo of the counterfeit rack and tag next to mine.
On June 24, 2014, Jack Huang removed the drying racks from my amazon listing and set up his OWN amazon listing for the drying rack. He changed his name to “Good Go Shop”. At first he used my drying rack photo but after a few days, he used his own photos. Most of the text in the description is also mine. However, at least with his own listing, he is not claiming that it is a “Mommy Genius” drying rack or that it is “made in the USA”.
I hired a patent attorney to file a design patent for this drying rack in February 2014. I received a letter stating that my patent would be granted in April 2014. I am just waiting for the patent and trademark office to issue me my patent number. With that number, I can hopefully get these knock-offs removed from amazon.
Many customers unknowingly purchased these counterfeit drying racks while they were on my Mommy Genius Drying Rack Amazon listing. You would know if you received a counterfeit rack if you purchased the rack between June 15 and June 24, 2014, and the seller listed on the transaction was “Jack Huang” instead of “Mommy Genius”. I would like to contact all of the customers and explain what happened. These counterfeit racks are not nearly as nice as mine, and I don’t want the customers to think that these poorly made racks are mine! I want them to return the racks to amazon for a full refund if they aren’t happy with them. However, I don’t have access to the customer information and Amazon will not give it to me. Please share this story to let counterfeiters know that this is NOT OKAY, and maybe I can reach all of the customers that I am looking for. Thank you!
My Mommy Genius Drying Rack amazon listing is back to normal right now (July 10, 2014). No counterfeits on the listing. The knock-offs have their own amazon listing right now sold by “Good Go Shop”. In the future, anyone who buys a drying rack should make sure that the amazon seller is listed as “Mommy Genius”. That way you know you are getting the authentic drying rack. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Annie Pryor (mom-inventor of the Mommy Genius Drying Racks)
annie@mommygenius.com