TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A cat bed recently launched by Tesla China appears to be the copycat of a product from a Taiwanese company, raising questions about design theft.
Listed on the Tesla China website, a semi-open cat house inspired by Tesla’s electric pickup truck, Cyberstruck, is described as “futuristically styled and catering to the nature and daily needs of cats.” Made of thickened corrugated paper, it is priced at 89 yuan (NT$390, US$12).
The item appears suspiciously similar to one designed by Hulumao, a Taiwanese manufacturer of cat furniture. Founded in 2016, the company has launched seven cat beds and four of them have been pirated by Chinese businesses, said founder Hsiao Shih-chang (蕭世昌).
Hsiao told CNA that Chinese companies have even patented some of the counterfeits, exploiting the fact that none of Hulumao’s products were copyright-protected. He explained that acquiring a design patent involves efforts to address the controversy over the details of a product’s shape and size, which is no easy task for small businesses like Hulumao.
The cardboard cat house in question is an iconic product released in 2017 and won gold at the A' Design Award and Competition, said Hulumao in a Facebook post. It added Tesla’s Cybertrunk concept was unveiled in 2019.
Hulumao “thanked” Tesla CEO Elon Musk for “promoting its product with a Tesla logo on social media,” but stressed it never licensed the model for Tesla China. “There must be something misunderstood in this matter,” it said.
According to Hsiao, the brand was established because his wife is a cat lover and transforms corrugated cardboard boxes into furniture. He admitted there is not much the company can do to counter the alleged copycat product by Tesla.