By Mak Yuen Teen
Yesterday, the Financial Times in the UK ran a story that a campaigner who tried to expose how easy it is to fake British company records was to be prosecuted himself (“Campaigner prosecuted over stunt to expose company records fraud,” Financial Times, April 17). He had used an online service provided by the UK Companies House to do fake company registrations using the names of government ministers and each of the registrations had only cost him £12. The news of the prosecution created a mixed reaction, with even the former UK business secretary, Mr Vince Cable, himself – who was one of those whose name was used to create the fake companies – saying “the punishment in this case seems to be heavy-handed”.
As those who have been following my articles on Datapulse Technology know, I had recently discovered that at least two trademarks of products manufactured by Wayco Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, which the company has now confirmed are registered in Malaysia, are shown to be registered trademarks of two UK companies in the product labels. My search of the UK Companies Office online found that those two UK companies have been dormant since they were incorporated in the 1980s and have paid-up capital and cash of £100. They are owned by Ang Kong Meng, who was the ultimate shareholder of Wayco Manufacturing sold to Datapulse, and his sister. Those were the only two product labels I could find in the shops so I did not check other products manufactured by Wayco Manufacturing. See below for the two product labels for GoodLook and Glorin products.
It is interesting that I was researching something here about registered trademarks purportedly held by dormant UK companies and then this story about the UK Companies Office broke. It now makes me wonder how prevalent is the practice of companies setting up UK companies to give the impression that products are UK products when they are not. Maybe authorities here and in Malaysia who are responsible for product advertising and consumer protection should look into this issue. As a consumer, I would be very angry if I discover that a product that I am using has been mis-represented to me in any way. If this is the US, there will probably be class action by consumers.
Given the outcry that has now been created in the UK over how easy it is to set up fake companies at the Companies House, it would not surprise me if there is a full-scale investigation in the UK. I am sure they do not take such an issue lightly. The concern is of course much bigger than just about whether companies are created to give the impression that registered trademarks are UK-based. It is about the use of UK companies for more nefarious reasons.
As I was doing my research on the registered trademarks issue, I came across a service provider advertising online some of the benefits of setting up a dormant company in the UK – even if there is no intention of ever starting a business. Apparently, one of the benefits is to give the impression that the company has a longer operating history than it actually has when it is sold – perhaps by selling the dormant company to another company that is being established many years down the road.
I don’t know if I am the only one who thinks all these is just plain wrong.
