Letter of Claim - VBN - 5 May 2021

DocuSign Envelope ID: 26DEBBA7-B503-4DBF-87D4-A61BC493E1EB
Obiananma Agbim
Virgo by Nanma
8 Brookside Road,
Golders Green
London NW11 9NE
obiananmaagbim@yahoo.com
5 May 2021
Dear Ms Agbim,
This letter has been written in response to your letter dated 19 April 2021.
Comb
1. Our client Healthy Hair Studio Ltd trading as Healthy Hair Studio by Enitan of 419 Staines Road
West, Ashford, England, TW15 1RB. Healthy Hair Studio by Enitan is the owner of the UK
registered design number 6121668 because it created the Design (as defined below) in
accordance with the Registered Designs Act 1949 (the ‘Design’); a scanned copy of the
registration certificate and accompanying letter is enclosed at Schedule 1 Part I (The Design)
for your information. You will note from the accompanying letter that (a) the shape of the comb
has been registered (not the measurements, lines, patterns or colours); and (b) the registered
owner of the Design is Healthy Hair Studio Ltd.
Virgo By Nanma
2. It has come to our client’s attention that Virgo by Nanma is or appears to marketing, putting on
the market, offering, making, importing or using combs which are substantially identical to the
Design (the Product) into the UK, at least since 8 February 2021 as evidenced in an image from
the Vbn.World Instagram page copied at Schedule 2 Part I (Product Marketing) in which the
product is marketed in GBP. See also evidence of a receipt at Schedule 2 Part II (Product
Receipt) and a comparison of the Design and Product at Schedule 2 Part III (Design and
Product Comparison).
3. Our client has not consented to Virgo By Nanma marketing, putting on the market, offering,
making or importing this Product to the UK. Such unauthorised making and/or importation is
an infringement of our client’s rights in the Design under s7-7B of the Registered Designs Act
1949.
Manufacturer
4. Note that our client supplemented its existing agreement entered into in October 2019 with an
overseas manufacturer based in China with an agreement entered into on 8 August 2020 to
exclusively manufacture and produce combs based on the Design on our client’s behalf. In
the event that your Product was produced by such manufacturer, such Product was
manufactured and sold to you unlawfully, in breach of the agreement (see evidence of the
agreement at Schedule III Part II – Exclusivity Agreement with Manufacturer.
5. Note also that you are liable for breach of design under the Registered Designs Act of 1949
irrespective of the breach of my client’s agreement with the overseas manufacturer.
Responses to your Letter dated 19 April
6. At Paragraph 4 of your letter headed “The Product” you have confirmed the measurements of
the Product which indeed correlate with the measurements of the Design. The measurements
included in the previous letter were based on the initial design agreed upon between my client
and the Manufacturer. My client subsequently amended the measurements of the Design
prior to its initial production. Please refer to the images of the Product and Design
Comparison at Schedule I Part III and manufacturer correspondence at Schedule I Part IV. In
any event, the design shape has been registered, not the measurements.
7. At Paragraph 5 of your letter you stated that you were unaware of my client’s business and
did not copy my client’s Design. Under the Registered Designs Act of 1949 whether or not
you are aware of the business or copied the design is irrelevant. Breach of the design as
referred to in Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this letter above is sufficient.
8. At Paragraph 6 of your letter you have confirmed that you market your Product worldwide to
customers including those in the UK. You have confirmed that you have sold the Product to
two customers based in the UK, including myself. Marketing (whether via Instagram post or
otherwise), selling or exporting the product to the UK is a breach of my client’s Design rights
as set out in Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this letter. While we note that you are a Nigerian
incorporated business your activities, which may include exporting to the UK, marketing to
customers who may be based in the UK, and selling to customers in the UK renders you
subject to UK law.
9. At Paragraph 7 you suggest that the products are not substantially identical. Having
purchased your product and been provided with that of my client I confirm that your assertion
is incorrect. Please refer to the Design certificate and letter Schedule I Part I (The Design).
10. At Paragraph 8 you have asserted that the Design is unregistered. Please refer to the
registration certificate and letter at Schedule I Part I (The Design) certifying my client’s
registration and ownership of the Design.
11. At Paragraphs 9, 10 and 11 you have mentioned that you have not seen the exclusivity
agreement between my client and Anhui Mr. Mountain Bamboo Wood Tech Co. ltd. (the
“Manufacturer”). Please refer to the dialogue at Schedule III Part I (Exclusivity Agreement with
Manufacturer) which constitutes the Exclusivity Agreement.
12. At Paragraph 12 you allege that my client does not own the design. See Paragraph 10 of this
letter.
13. At Paragraph 13 and 14 you mention that you do not understand why or how you are in
breach of my client’s design rights. Please refer to Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this letter.
14. At Schedule 2 you assert that there are some differences between your product and my
client’s. As you have not yet purchased my client’s comb you are unable to carry out any
useful comparison of the two combs. The purported colour difference is incorrect. The print
difference is immaterial. The purported shape of teeth difference is incorrect and the
purported header difference is also incorrect. Please refer to Schedule I Part I (The Design)
and Schedule II Part III (Design and Product Comparison). There are no material differences
in the two combs.
Next Steps
15. This matter is serious and you should take specialist legal advice about it. You should be aware
that it is open to our client to commence litigation in respect of these acts of making and
importation without further notice to you, seeking an injunction to restrain the acts of
infringement detailed above. These proceedings would also seek damages or an account of
profits for loss suffered by our client as a result of the acts of infringement stated above, as well
as delivery up or destruction of the Product, a declaration that the Design has been infringed in
this way, an order for dissemination and publication of the judgment, and recovery of our client’s
costs.
16. Our client wishes to avoid litigation in respect of the infringing acts set out above, and therefore
is willing at this time to end the dispute with the signature by Virgo by Nanma of, and compliance
with suitable undertakings. Please let us know if you are willing in principle to settle the dispute
in this way. We enclose an updated draft of such undertakings at Schedule IV (Undertakings).
17. If a constructive response or the signed undertakings are not received by 4.00pm on 19 May
2021 our client may commence proceedings against Virgo By Nanma without further notice to
you. Note that not responding to this letter will lead to an increase in the costs that our client
will incur. We also draw your attention to the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct, a copy
of which can be found on the justice.gov.uk website.
18. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by 4.00pm on 19 May 2021.
19. In the meantime, we expressly reserve all of our client’s rights, including in respect of damages
and costs.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
______________
Chizoba Legal
SCHEDULE 1
Part I – The Design

SCHEDULE 2
Part I - Product Marketing

Part II – Product Receipt

Part III – Design and Product Comparison
DESIGN PRODUCT
SCHEDULE 3
Part I – Exclusivity Agreement with Manufacturer

Part II – Design measurements (FYI only)

SCHEDULE 4
UNDERTAKINGS
[Undertakings to be provided on VBN.World headed notepaper and dated]
To Healthy Hair Studio by Enitan
c/o Chizoba Legal

Kemp House
160 City Road
London
EC1V 2NX
Dear Healthy Hair Studio by Enitan
In consideration of Healthy Hair Studio by Enitan refraining from bringing proceedings against us in the
UK courts for infringement of the UK registered design number 6121668 (the ‘Design’), on the basis of
the action outlined in your solicitors’ letter dated 5 May 2021, but without prejudice to your right to take
action in respect of any further acts of infringement, we acknowledge that such actions constitute
infringement of the Design and we undertake, whether acting by ourselves, our directors, partners,
officers, employees, agents or any of them as follows:
1. delete all online images of your Product from your Instagram page and any other website.
2. to contact the manufacturer of the Product providing them with a copy of this letter and
requesting a full refund to be processed immediately.
Yours faithfully,
……………………………………………
Ms. Obiananma Agbim for and on behalf of Virgo By Nanma

Letter of Claim - VBN - 5 May 2021

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DocuSign Envelope ID: 26DEBBA7-B503-4DBF-87D4-A61BC493E1EB

Responses to your Letter dated 19 April

18. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by 4.00pm on 19 May 2021.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Part I – The Design

Part I - Product Marketing

Part II – Product Receipt

Part III – Design and Product Comparison

Part I – Exclusivity Agreement with Manufacturer

Part II – Design measurements (FYI only)

To Healthy Hair Studio by Enitan

c/o Chizoba Legal

Dear Healthy Hair Studio by Enitan

Ms. Obiananma Agbim for and on behalf of Virgo By Nanma

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