GLOBALLY famous Filipino designers whose works are being copied illegally are closely watching Kenneth Cobonpue’s efforts at running after unscrupulous businessmen blatantly churning out poor imitations of his own works.
Cobonpue—a master furniture and industrial designer whose works have earned worldwide recognition and graced the homes of Hollywood royalty—identified jewelry designer Bea Valdes and luxury bag designer Tina Maristela-Ocampo among the observers in his solo fight so far against copyright pirates.
He was in Tagaytay City on Dec. 8 to witness the destruction of a truckload of illegal replicas of his works seized two years ago from a shop called RSK, located along the stretch of the national highway from Sta. Rosa, Laguna to Tagaytay.
Kenneth Cobonpue checks out illegal reproductions of his design of the Yoda chair before the fake pieces are destroyed. (INQUIRER PHOTO)
This was after Tagaytay City Judge Jaime Santiago released an order to destroy the items patterned after Cobonpue’s creations, including the Noodle, Dragnet, La Luna and Croissant armchairs, and the Yin and Yang daybed.
Also found in RSK’s showroom were imitations of the Voyage daybed that became popular after a purchase made by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and the iconic Yoda bar stool that was used by world leaders who attended last month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in a dinner hosted by Malacañang.
“If we want to be the creative capital of Asia and the world, I think it’s high time we protected our own design industry,” Cobonpue said in an interview minutes before Judge Santiago’s order was implemented.
“My mother taught me the value of being honest and original. She was copied left and right. I promised my mother that I would take up the cudgels for her when I grew up, and now it has come full circle,” Cobonpue said.
“I hope to inspire other young people to always create original design, protect it by law and bring pride to our country,” he said.