October 21, 2014 – ZigBee president & CEO Tobin J.M. Richardson today issued an alert to alliance members and interested stakeholders regarding a Chinese company named Wulian (also operating under the name Nanjing IoT) that “has been misrepresenting itself as the ZigBee Alliance in China and other areas, despite the fact that they have no present affiliation with the ZigBee Alliance”.

Moreover, writes Richardson, Wulian has been “inaccurately and intentionally mis-advertising its products as ZigBee Certified, which they are not”.

“The ZigBee Alliance takes these transgressions very seriously and is taking active steps to resolve this issue. Promoting and protecting the interests of the stakeholder members of the ZigBee Alliance is of utmost importance.”

“While we have attempted in good faith to amicably correct this situation directly with Wulian, they refuse to comply. Subsequently, the ZigBee Alliance has taken steps to address these issues,” explains Richardson, including contacting appropriate U.S. and other country trade representatives, filing objections to Wulian’s use of the ZigBee trademark and name, and contacting the Chinese Trademark Office (CTMO).

“While the actions of this one rogue player are of serious concern, we remain excited and confident about the opportunity ahead for ZigBee Alliance stakeholders as we enable the vast benefits of the Internet of Things,” said Richardson.

ZigBee is a platform of wireless standards for interconnecting a variety of devices. The alliance promotes worldwide adoption of ZigBee standards as the “leading wirelessly networked, sensing and control standard for use in consumer, commercial and industrial areas”.