ClarkMorgan claims another foreign operated training firm stole their training materials. Managing Director, Morry Morgan, posted the following comment on the China HR Professional's forum on LinkedIn:
"I would like to hear from others in the training market who have had their IPR stolen by unscrupulous competitors. My company was recently the victim of name disclosed, who even went so far as to post their material on a 3rd party website (http://tinyurl.com/dcxw86) in plain view of my company (and our lawyers).
I've uploaded a comparison at http://www.slideshare.net/morryone/tw-allison-copyright-infringement"
Morgan has also posted further details on the main page of his website.
Protecting the intellectual property rights of training materials is difficult anywhere- but even more difficult in China. It's a known fact that protecting one's IP rights is not an easy task here.
I think it's important to remember that the training materials are just one part of the training equation. Good materials must be accompanied by outstanding delivery, comprehensive testing and a responsible trainer in order to be effective. In China, we can only do so much to protect what we have put hours of our time into developing but at the end of the day good customer service, experienced trainers and a satisfied client-base cannot be stolen.
Thoughts?
9 comments:
I have been wondering why all Morry Morgan could do was to send the "evidence" to everyone he knows and to the websites he has access to?
A better approach would be to take legal action considering all the "evidence" he has. Why did he only care about slandering TW Allison? I can't help but think of someone is trying to brainwash the public and use it as a tool to bring his competitor down.
Protecting IPR is one thing, but using the Internet to defame a competitor is unethical.
It seems that Mr. Morgan's reaction has been very knee-jerk. If he has a legal case, pursue it through the legal system. However uploading this type of thing to slideshare is in itself unethical.
If Mr. Morgan really cares about ethics, then should he not model ethical behavior, regardless of what has happened to him?
I don't know all the facts, but just judging from what his reaction has been, I feel he has an agenda that goes beyond protecting his IP. It seems as if he is more concerned with putting a new competitor out of business.
I have heard that ClarkMorgan has had a lot of financial problems as well as problems with many employees leaving or being let go. Perhaps he has found an issue that he feels he is going to use to rally the rest of his troops around. Kind of like identify a common enemy and go after him.
I cannot picture a truly professional GM or CEO reacting as he has reacted in this case. That's my view.
Ming and Jack,
Thank you for your feedback regarding this case. You are correct in assuming that we will take legal action. Copyright infringement is hard to prove, especially in China, but employee theft is much easier. Members of the named company have already admitted to taking materials from my company, and this evidence is now with our lawyers.
By the way both of you have blocked your profiles, and written your comments within 10 minutes of one another, so I assume that I am really only replying to one person, and most likely an employee of the company in question.
Regards,
Morry Morgan
ClarkMorgan General Manager
Hi
Thank you for a wonderful article.
Can you please clarify to me, what impact will, if into force form will have on a company like for an example Ralph Lauren Polo, that have a registered trademark in China? Can the Company force a website selling counterfeit RLP items to remove them.
www.ibowtech.com
Sanjay,
Regarding stopping copyright violations in China, the law is currently vague, and 'proof' as a 'Western' concept is not the same as in Chinese law. Adidas - Salomon International Sourcing Ltd hire their own staff who raid offices with cameras and sometimes police, but this job is very dangerous, as these factories are most often located outside Tier 1 cities (ie. Shanghai, Beijing, Guanzhoug) and more often in Tier 3cities, where the businesses and local authorities have a 'close' relationship. Assaults are common.
Also be aware than 'face' is much more important in China than non-Asian counties. When the law does not work in your favour, embarrassing the culprits, as we did, can work just as well, particularly if they are a company with a web-presence.
In reply to Mr. Morgan, and his accusations against my company, please note the following:
1) Our company is not using any of ClarkMorgan's material in our training. We have our own business English materials, verified by a third party. We also customize all of our soft skills training and do not use any of ClarkMorgan's material.
2) Morry Morgan's company is the one that is guilty of IP theft. This is a fact and I offer the proof for all to see here:
In the March 2007 issue of Network HR, a ClarkMorgan magazine that is sent out to approximately 8,000 HR professionals across China, there appeared an article titled: "Mind Over Matter - Using A Positive Mental Approach To Master Presentation Skills."
The article was written by ClarkMorgan's National Corporate Training Manager. Except that it really wasn't. In fact, the National Corporate Training manager plagiarized the article from the website of Ed Sykes and then signed his name to it. You may read the original at this link:
www.thesykesgrp.com/PresentationSkillsPublicSpeakingArticle02.htm
Should you wish to see a copy of the plagiarized article that appeared in Network HR magazine, I will be happy to provide you with a copy. When Mr. Morgan found out about the plagiarized article, which I informed him about, did he fire his manager? No. That individual continued in his role as National Corporate Training Manager for ClarkMorgan and continued to work as a trainer for the company.
So much for Morry Morgan's claims about wanting to protect IPR.
However, that's not all.
On Thursday, July16th, 2009 and Friday, July 17th, 2009, ClarkMorgan Corporate Training conducted two 3-hour seminar training demonstrations in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The trainer demonstrated Psycho-Geometrics, a communication model developed by Dr. Susan Dillinger. Psycho-Geometrics is a registered trademark and in order to conduct and/or sell this training, you must be a registered Psycho-Geometrics trainer and/or company. As well, there is a substantial fee which must be paid in order to obtain the training rights. See the link below.
http://www.psychogeometrics.com/opportunities.php
Neither ClarkMorgan nor the trainer in question were licensed at that time to conduct or sell this training. This was a clear violation of Susan Dillinger and Psycho-Geometrics trademark and IPR. Should you wish to contact Susan Dillinger regarding this matter, I will be happy to provide you with her contact information.
By the way, that trainer is still working for ClarkMorgan, in fact you can see a video of him on their website.
So much for Morry Morgan's claims about wanting to protect IPR!
There's much more, but this is sufficient for now.
Mike Allison
In reply to Mr. Morgan, and his accusations against my company, please note the following:
1) Our company is not using any of ClarkMorgan's material in our training. We have our own business English materials, verified by a third party. We also customize all of our soft skills training and do not use any of ClarkMorgan's material.
2) Morry Morgan's company is the one that is guilty of IP theft. This is a fact and I offer the proof for all to see here:
In the March 2007 issue of Network HR, a ClarkMorgan magazine that is sent out to approximately 8,000 HR professionals across China, there appeared an article titled: "Mind Over Matter - Using A Positive Mental Approach To Master Presentation Skills."
The article was written by ClarkMorgan's National Corporate Training Manager. Except that it really wasn't. In fact, the National Corporate Training manager plagiarized the article from the website of Ed Sykes and then signed his name to it. You may read the original at this link:
www.thesykesgrp.com/PresentationSkillsPublicSpeakingArticle02.htm
Should you wish to see a copy of the plagiarized article that appeared in Network HR magazine, I will be happy to provide you with a copy. When Mr. Morgan found out about the plagiarized article, which I informed him about, did he fire his manager? No. That individual continued in his role as National Corporate Training Manager for ClarkMorgan and continued to work as a trainer for the company.
So much for Morry Morgan's claims about wanting to protect IPR.
However, that's not all.
On Thursday, July16th, 2009 and Friday, July 17th, 2009, ClarkMorgan Corporate Training conducted two 3-hour seminar training demonstrations in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The trainer demonstrated Psycho-Geometrics, a communication model developed by Dr. Susan Dillinger. Psycho-Geometrics is a registered trademark and in order to conduct and/or sell this training, you must be a registered Psycho-Geometrics trainer and/or company. As well, there is a substantial fee which must be paid in order to obtain the training rights. See the link below.
http://www.psychogeometrics.com/opportunities.php
Neither ClarkMorgan nor the trainer in question were licensed at that time to conduct or sell this training. This was a clear violation of Susan Dillinger and Psycho-Geometrics trademark and IPR. Should you wish to contact Susan Dillinger regarding this matter, I will be happy to provide you with her contact information.
By the way, that trainer is still working for ClarkMorgan, in fact you can see a video of him on their website.
So much for Morry Morgan's claims about wanting to protect IPR!
There's much more, but this is sufficient for now.
Mike Allison
In reply to Mr. Morgan, and his accusations against my company, please note the following:
1) Our company is not using any of ClarkMorgan's material in our training. We have our own business English materials, verified by a third party. We also customize all of our soft skills training and do not use any of ClarkMorgan's material.
2) Morry Morgan's company is the one that is guilty of IP theft. This is a fact and I offer the proof for all to see here:
In the March 2007 issue of Network HR, a ClarkMorgan magazine that is sent out to approximately 8,000 HR professionals across China, there appeared an article titled: "Mind Over Matter - Using A Positive Mental Approach To Master Presentation Skills."
The article was written by ClarkMorgan's National Corporate Training Manager. Except that it really wasn't. In fact, the National Corporate Training manager plagiarized the article from the website of Ed Sykes and then signed his name to it. You may read the original at this link:
www.thesykesgrp.com/PresentationSkillsPublicSpeakingArticle02.htm
Should you wish to see a copy of the plagiarized article that appeared in Network HR magazine, I will be happy to provide you with a copy. When Mr. Morgan found out about the plagiarized article, which I informed him about, did he fire his manager? No. That individual continued in his role as National Corporate Training Manager for ClarkMorgan and continued to work as a trainer for the company.
So much for Morry Morgan's claims about wanting to protect IPR.
However, that's not all.
On Thursday, July16th, 2009 and Friday, July 17th, 2009, ClarkMorgan Corporate Training conducted two 3-hour seminar training demonstrations in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The trainer demonstrated Psycho-Geometrics, a communication model developed by Dr. Susan Dillinger. Psycho-Geometrics is a registered trademark and in order to conduct and/or sell this training, you must be a registered Psycho-Geometrics trainer and/or company. As well, there is a substantial fee which must be paid in order to obtain the training rights. See the link below.
http://www.psychogeometrics.com/opportunities.php
Neither ClarkMorgan nor the trainer in question were licensed at that time to conduct or sell this training. This was a clear violation of Susan Dillinger and Psycho-Geometrics trademark and IPR. Should you wish to contact Susan Dillinger regarding this matter, I will be happy to provide you with her contact information.
By the way, that trainer is still working for ClarkMorgan, in fact you can see a video of him on their website.
So much for Morry Morgan's claims about wanting to protect IPR!
There's much more, but this is sufficient for now.
Mike Allison
In reply to Mr. Morgan, and his accusations against my company, please note the following:
1) Our company is not using any of ClarkMorgan's material in our training. We have our own business English materials, verified by a third party. We also customize all of our soft skills training and do not use any of ClarkMorgan's material.
2) Morry Morgan's company is the one that is guilty of IP theft. This is a fact and I offer the proof for all to see here:
In the March 2007 issue of Network HR, a ClarkMorgan magazine that is sent out to approximately 8,000 HR professionals across China, there appeared an article titled: "Mind Over Matter - Using A Positive Mental Approach To Master Presentation Skills."
The article was written by ClarkMorgan's National Corporate Training Manager. Except that it really wasn't. In fact, the National Corporate Training manager plagiarized the article from the website of Ed Sykes and then signed his name to it. You may read the original at this link:
www.thesykesgrp.com/PresentationSkillsPublicSpeakingArticle02.htm
Should you wish to see a copy of the plagiarized article that appeared in Network HR magazine, I will be happy to provide you with a copy. When Mr. Morgan found out about the plagiarized article, which I informed him about, did he fire his manager? No. That individual continued in his role as National Corporate Training Manager for ClarkMorgan and continued to work as a trainer for the company.
So much for Morry Morgan's claims about wanting to protect IPR.
However, that's not all.
On Thursday, July16th, 2009 and Friday, July 17th, 2009, ClarkMorgan Corporate Training conducted two 3-hour seminar training demonstrations in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The trainer demonstrated Psycho-Geometrics, a communication model developed by Dr. Susan Dillinger. Psycho-Geometrics is a registered trademark and in order to conduct and/or sell this training, you must be a registered Psycho-Geometrics trainer and/or company. As well, there is a substantial fee which must be paid in order to obtain the training rights. See the link below.
http://www.psychogeometrics.com/opportunities.php
Neither ClarkMorgan nor the trainer in question were licensed at that time to conduct or sell this training. This was a clear violation of Susan Dillinger and Psycho-Geometrics trademark and IPR. Should you wish to contact Susan Dillinger regarding this matter, I will be happy to provide you with her contact information.
By the way, that trainer is still working for ClarkMorgan, in fact you can see a video of him on their website.
So much for Morry Morgan's claims about wanting to protect IPR!
There's much more, but this is sufficient for now.
Mike Allison
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