Block-Bilt: Website link-Never seen these jackets. Anyone?

[Sloan1874]

Just in case we're in any doubt about who's behind B-B: http://whois.domaintools.com/blockbilt.com

 

[handymike]

Curiouser and curiouser...
Sloan, this is the one I used before that ZHZ took issue with...
The whoIs for block-bilt.com shows the owner info is kept "private" through a third party registration service.

 

[handymike]

@Butte, What I'd give for Toughskins today! My 9 year old rips holes in knees instantly...especially since the schools no longer have grass for the kids to play on.

 

[Plumbline]

I'm in doubt ....

I think that's a different website Sloanie .... I think the one being talked about in www.block-bilt.com.

www.blockbilt.com doesn't give any website and certainly not the one selling leather jackets .....

I have to say .. I miss Schitzo ( Roscoe) , good luck if it is him .... the place is less diverse ( and poorer) by his absence and if it means more jackets options then good job

 

[Capesofwrath]

Just in case we're in any doubt about who's behind B-B: http://whois.domaintools.com/blockbilt.com

As has already been pointed out to you by someone else a long way up the thread that is a different website. Block-Bilt is not the same site even it the name is similar. So why repeat it?

 

[handymike]

blockbilt.com is owned by simmonsbilt.
block-bilt.com is "private".

repitition=clarification...sometimes

 

[Capesofwrath]

blockbilt.com is owned by simmonsbilt.
block-bilt.com is "private".

repitition=clarification...sometimes

block-bilt leads to an active site and the other is inactive. Repetition can be deliberately misleading sometimes.

 

[Superfluous]

The Block-Bilt website references the "Electronic Communications Act, which came into force on 25 July 2003." See, http://www.block-bilt.com/site/terms.php . The 2003 Electronic Communications Act is UK law. Therefore, Block-Bilt is almost certainly a UK company.

Block-Bilt states that its name is copyrighted. However, my very quick search did not uncover any evidence of a copyright. Perhaps someone else has better access to the records.

 

[cuchulain]

I like that half belt, but £800 is A LOT of money, and I would stick with the sure things like Aero for that price. I wish I could find a decent off the rack half-belt for $400 or so, if that was the price I would definitely take a flyer on it.

As for the SB/AL connection, since SB owns blockbilt.com and block-bilt.com is a private registration it's likely they are the owners of block-bilt.com. When you start a company and buy a domain you typically buy up any that are close to it so people can't damage your brand. I don't really see an issue with that, as has been suggested the jackets don't look like SB/AL jackets so this could be a different market they're moving into so they started a separate company for it, it's done all the time.

 

[Blackadder]

If the jackets are made in China, bets are they would appear on Taobao as well, LOL. I have yet to find them there but I'll keep an eye out.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Well, I don’t. My jacket went to Greece for repair twice in six months.

Ouch! Sorry to hear that.

 

[ProteinNerd]

I'm always happy for more competition and choice in the market and I quite like the look of the jackets. However, I'm definitely not going to drop £800 on a jacket where the maker has no history or reputation (that we know of) and has virtually no real info on their website.

Another thing that sets my spider sense tingling is the home page. The jackets pictured are all quite a distinctive yet none of these models are actually offered for sale?

I just don't "get" why you feature jackets on your home page that clearly aren't yours. Or in this case, you don't offer a repo of. I'm assuming the picture is an authentic vintage shot and that the jackets in the picture are original block-bilt models?

 

[Sloan1874]

You'd hope so!

 

[Rudie]

What do you mean, none of the jackets are for sale? They have a web shop and you can pay by paypal.

 

[ProteinNerd]

None of the jackets featured on the homepage.

 

[Rudie]

Ah. Lost in translation.

 

[pawineguy]

Anyone find anything about the "famous" designer, Hiroshi Watanabe? All the theories aside, the only thing that makes sense (and I'm not implying that things always end up making sense) is that this is a soft launch with more publicity to follow?

 

[ProteinNerd]

Maybe, but why then sell on eBay at half the price? Surely you offer an early adopter discounted price on the official site to encourage visits there?

 

[Capesofwrath]

Anyone find anything about the "famous" designer, Hiroshi Watanabe? All the theories aside, the only thing that makes sense (and I'm not implying that things always end up making sense) is that this is a soft launch with more publicity to follow?

Sounds like one of those joke Japanese names to me like Fuckutake, which Bob Maxwell used to name one of his holding companies; and did he take... He took the pensions of the Daily Mirror employees.

Hiroshi Wantanabe? Wantabe what exactly?

 

[Edward]

The Block-Bilt website references the "Electronic Communications Act, which came into force on 25 July 2003." See, http://www.block-bilt.com/site/terms.php . The 2003 Electronic Communications Act is UK law. Therefore, Block-Bilt is almost certainly a UK company.

Block-Bilt states that its name is copyrighted. However, my very quick search did not uncover any evidence of a copyright. Perhaps someone else has better access to the records.

Clearly they're not in possession of a UK law degree... No such Act exists in UK law. There is the Ecommerce Regulations 2002 (secondary legislation that came into force on 21 August 2002), but no Axt of that name or descriptuon.

In the UK, asmany other jurisdictions, a single word, such as Blockbilt, cannot be copyrighted, ergo noone can claim to own the copyright. Trademark would be the correct means of protection here. The mark should be available.

It would seem odd for SB to think of rebranding again, and the product certainly isn't their style, though plausibly one or more of their people might be considering jumping ship to something new. It certainly seems a bizarre coincidence that two unconnected enterpriseswould go looking for blockbilt.com / block-bilt.com at the same time. All speculation until they reveal themselves, of course, but if looking to use the BB name for business, it would make sense to register both in order to prevent cybersquatting and/or people struggling to find you with an obvious typo.