Lawyer Ann Edillon (left), representing world-renowned furniture maker Kenneth Cobonpue, confronts John Tanjueco who allegedly sells imitation of Cobonpue pieces at lower price. Photo by Ding Cervantes
ANGELES CITY- Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) raided simultaneously Monday four furniture stores amid reports their common owner has been manufacturing and selling imitations of world-famous Kenneth Cobonpue furniture which have landed in homes of international celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, as well as members of royal families.
Lawyer Ann Edillon, representing Cobonpue, said the raids were conducted in the stores of John Tanjueco, 52, in Tagaytay City, Bacoor City, Pulilan in Bulacan and this city where the manufacturing is done. Tanjueco was cornered by the NBI agents at his Jasmine Furniture shop here.
She noted that her client’s customers include not only top Hollywood celebrities but also royalties such as Queen Sophia of Spain and Queen Rania Al Abdullah. In 2007, TIME magazine called Cobonpue “rattan’s first virtuoso”.
“Tanjueco has been violating the copyright laws or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines by imitating the furniture designs of my client,” Edillon said during the raid at the shop where some 100 workers are employed here.
Edillon and NBI agents from Manila found some replicas of Cobonpue furniture on display in the shop’s showroom here, while more unfinished imitations of “La Luna” chairs were also found in the warehouse. She said the raid was ordered by a special commercial court in Manila that empowered the raiding team to confiscate imitation furniture, as
well as raw materials and equipment for making them.
In an interview, Tanjueco admitted manufacturing furniture pieces according to Cobonpue’s designs, but insisted he did them only because his customers asked him to copy such designs. Asked how many imitations he had done for customers, he admitted having done many so that he had lost count.
Admitting his “mistakes”, Tanjueco sought forgiveness from Cobonpue and vowed to stop copying his designs. His elder sister Evengeline Tanjueco, 60, also issued the same appeal to Cobonpue as a Christmas gift to her family and some 100 workers at the manufacturing plant here.
But Edillon noted that since two years ago, her client had been issuing notices to Tanjueco asking him to stop manufacturing imitation Cobonpue furniture, but that he never stopped. She said, however, that she would convey to her client the appeal of Tanjueco for forgiveness.
Cobonpue is a multi-awarded furniture designer and manufacturer from Cebu. He graduated in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute in New York with highest honors and subsequently worked in Italy and Germany.
Integrating locally sourced materials with innovative handmade production processes, Cobonpue’s brand is known around the world for its unique designs and roster of celebrity clientele. Awards to his credit include 5 Japan Good Design Awards, the grand prize at the Singapore International Design Competition, the Design for Asia Award of Hong Kong, the American Society of Interior Design Top Pick selection and the French Coup de Coeur award.
Several of his designs were selected for several editions of the International Design Yearbook published in London and New York.
