5 minute read
Garden Rooms
YALE (ASSA ABLOY) LOSES TRADEMARK DISPUTE
Dear Editor,
I’m getting in touch for a couple of reasons. One, so that you can share the news that Yale has lost an ongoing trademark dispute with Smart Ready® and was told to pay costs to Smart Ready®. Yale (Assa Abloy) made a European trademark application in June 2019 to attempt to register Smart Living Ready. It was rejected and it’s not difficult to see why. Smart Living Ready versus Smart Ready® - confused? Three judges from the EU trademark office were, hence, the rejection of application, in its entirety. This decision will help protect consumers and hopefully put to bed any rumours that have been circulating about who owns what brand. I want to make clear: there is one Smart Ready® brand.
Secondly, I want this news to serve as a red flag to your readers that they must be careful about which brands they opt for when getting into the emerging Smart windows and doors market.
As a marketer myself, it’s clear to me that brands and trademarks are inseparable. A brand is the sum total of the many parts of a company’s corporate face – logos, imagery, slogans, colours, music – all of which contribute to build consistency, clarity, quality and trust.
I’ve said many times in public, that I will protect my brands before I even think to blink. People who know me, know I stand by my word and this latest news is proof. I am deeply proud of what me and my teams have achieved, like anyone who has created a business should be.
The window and door industry needs to take branding and trademarks much more seriously, especially now that Smart is emerging for windows and doors.
Yours sincerely,
Giovanni Laporta
Inventor and Innovator at Smart Ready®
CREATING BEAUTIFUL SPACES – ROOFWRIGHT ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF GARDEN ROOM SOFTWARE
If you already sell and install Garden Rooms or are thinking about getting involved in this booming area of the market, RoofWright has the software to enable you to create beautiful designs for your customers.
The industry leading building design software company has added garden rooms to its growing portfolio of design solutions tailored for those in the trade looking to offer their customers the most realistic and detailed designs as a part of their selling proposition. The company’s garden room software helps customers quickly create fully customised 3D presentations for homeowners, and the option to amend them live so that their dream living or working space can come to life in front of their eyes. Speaking about the development RoofWright Managing Director Dave Blakeman said “we are really delighted to have launched this next development of our software suite. It is really topical at the minute with everything that has happened, and we believe the market for garden rooms will continue to grow for many years to come. Our new software enables our trade customers to reduce the design process from approximately an hour to just a few minutes, and gives them the widest range of options to enable their customers to see their exact specification come to life in front of their eyes”. “Purchasing a garden room is a big commitment, and in every sense a dream for many, and the fact that we can bring that dream to life is a great feature of our incredibly intelligent software”. For more information visit www.roofwright.com.
SWISSPACER’s La Pensilina glass canopy system has received a stamp of approval from Staffordshire-based customer, Montane Projects, thanks to its high-quality design and performance.
Montane Projects, which specialises in the design, fabrication and supply of aluminium windows, bi-folds, doors and curtain walling, recently supplied and installed six La Pensilina canopies across six blocks of apartments at Blythe Valley Park, a Crest Nicholson housing development in Solihull. The canopies were required to be large enough to shelter people coming in and out of the buildings, as well as providing cover for the access panel and entrance. Montane Projects tried other canopy solutions but struggled to find a system that was strong enough to support the weight of the glass needed. La Pensilina proved to be the perfect solution. SWISSPACER provided a quick and efficient service, while offering an option that not only met the size requirements of the project but was weatherproof and stayed fixed in position. Adrian Locker, Owner of Montane Projects, had not come across a canopy system like La Pensilina before, which combines simple design and good performance. He feels it is superior to other systems on the market.
He says: “The design is simple and contemporary with minimal amounts of material on show. It is slim and easy to install and, unlike other products, doesn’t need lots of support to keep it in place. Installation was straightforward and we received excellent technical support from SWISSPACER. The client is very pleased with the outcome. “We will definitely be using La Pensilina going forward and adding it to our portfolio. It’s a great contemporary product that performs well and will fit many requirements.” La Pensilina, an exclusive cantilever glass canopy system, was launched by SWISSSPACER in 2019. Its stylist and minimalist design, and lack of visible screws, gives the canopy a clean look and ‘floating’ effect. La Pensilina is load bearing and strong enough to hold a distributed load of 350 kg/m2 without breaking. SWISSPACER is also wellknown for producing a range of high-performance warm edge spacer bars, which are designed to reduce heat loss in sealed units and improve energy ratings of windows. John Cooper, Commercial Director at SWISSPACER, says: “We are delighted to hear such positive feedback from our customer Montane Projects and that our product, La Pensilina, was able to exceed the requirements needed for this development in the heart of the West Midlands.
“The system can be easily installed to entrance doors or sliding and patio doors, and its unique and easy to maintain design is aimed at outdoor use. La Pensilina is ideal for residential developments, and we hope to see it used in many more homes in the coming months and years.” Tel: 01908 335190
HIGH PRAISE FOR SWISSPACER’S INNOVATIVE CANOPY SYSTEM
