AuKing to pay damages to Epson
February 2, 2024
Epson announced a default judgement was entered for its recent lawsuit against AuKing, an Amazon selling partner.
Finding that AuKing was unfairly competing by using false, deceptive, or misleading statements of fact that misrepresent the nature, quality and characteristics of its projector products, AuKing was ordered to pay more than $500,000 (€458,922) in damages.
AuKing was also enjoined from any false or misleading advertising of its projector products and from selling projectors online, including, but not limited to, Amazon.com and Aukingdirect.com, until the false advertising is corrected.
White Brightness measured in lumens is a significant feature used by consumers to make projector buying decisions. With actual lumens measured at less than 1% of AuKing’s claimed 9,500 lumens, these highly inaccurate statements deceive consumers, misrepresent the quality of projection, and ultimately impact the integrity of the industry.
“Consumers count on companies to provide reliable and accurate product information and performance specs,” said Mike Isgrig, Vice President, Consumer Sales and Marketing, Epson America. “As an ongoing issue, brands that are falsifying lumen claims are not only hurting the end-user experiences of consumers, but also the overall perception of projection viewing, damaging the industry as whole. The highly inaccurate lumen claims provided by AuKing is an example of gross negligence on the part of a brand and its commitment to truth in advertising.”
The initial complaint was made as part of Epson’s concentrated efforts to protect the projector market and ensure the implementation of internationally recognised and accepted brightness standards are used by brands to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions. The default judgement of the lawsuit and removal of these products benefits consumers, the retail channel and the larger projector industry.
Epson cautions shoppers to be wary of misleading metrics listed as “Lux,” “LED lumens,” “CVIA,” or “Lamp Brightness” that fail to follow standardised methodology and therefore materially impacts a consumer’s ability to compare performance of projectors, especially when shopping Amazon and other online marketplaces.
Measurement for projectors is defined by internationally recognised standards groups, including the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Committee for Display Metrology (ICDM). The ICDM publishes the Information Display Measurement Standards (IDMS) where methodology for measuring projector colour brightness is defined. The ISO standard that defines projector white brightness is ISO21118:2020. When these standards are followed, there is zero ambiguity regarding how projector brightness is properly measured, advertised and compared.
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