News including News Archive and Events
Counterfeit Jack Sockets
11th June 2010 - download this notification as a PDF Counterfeit Jack Sockets 
(73k).
It has come to our attention that valued customers are unknowingly buying counterfeit "CLIFF" jack sockets. Genuine Cliff™ jack sockets are manufactured under strict quality control to exacting specifications. Spotting the difference between genuine Cliff™ jack sockets and counterfeits can be difficult. Below is a photo of a genuine marked product and a counterfeit.
The genuine Cliff™ jack socket is made in the UK and is marked "CLIFF UK" unlike the counterfeit which is not made in the UK and is just marked "CLIFF". The numbers on both mouldings are just cavity numbers used for mould identification. Classic, genuine Cliff™ jacks are manufactured by Cliff™ in the UK. Stackjacks™ are manufactured by our China plant, Cliff™ Plastic and Metal Products Ltd. (CPM).
All genuine Cliff™ products are produced under an ISO 9001 quality controlled system, using high grade materials. These materials are selected so that genuine Cliff™ jack sockets pass greater than 10,000 plug insertions.
The counterfeit parts are made from poor quality materials which fail after only a few insertions according to our customers.
Please do not be caught out by counterfeit products. The long term effects of using poor quality, counterfeit products can cause untold financial losses, product failures and damage to your company name.
It has been reported that companies which bought these counterfeits and subsequentially had product failures, have tried to return them to the original supplier for credit without success. No genuine supplier or manufacturer would condone this.
A report on the world wide web saying that UK jack sockets are giving rise to failures is untrue and we believe this to be an attempt to cover up the problem with the counterfeit parts.
For genuine Cliff™ made products please contact us:
Cliff™ Electronic Components Ltd in the UK www.cliffuk.co.uk email:
Cliff™ Inc. in the USA www.cliffinc.com email:
DC Fan Replacement for models PADC12, PADC24, MADC12 and MADC24
9th June 2010
One of the semiconductors used in these fans will become obsolete in December 2010 and so they will no longer be manufactured. The last date for ordering these fans is the 1st September 2010. Fortunately, we can offer to you our alternative D1751 series. Please refer to the catalogue on our Fans and Blowers page.
New Digital Signal Processing Audio Digital Effects Module
15th April 2010
The ACE-DRV is a new model using the Asahi Kasei 24/34-Bit DSP with built in 20-Bit AD/DA stereo converters. Delay time control, delay repeat rate control, (feedback), reverb time control and delay / reverb volume balance mixing. For more information please see our DSP modules.
New sub-miniature DC power socket
26th February 2010
We now offer a smaller footprint version of our DC-8 socket for 1.3mm diameter DC power plugs. FC681455 will be useful where PCB space is tight. The two versions are not pin compatible and so are not drop in replacements for each other. We stock the current DC-8 (FC68145) and will stock the new FC681455 soon. Contact sales for technical drawings, prices and availability. A surface mounting version of the new model will be available but only supplied to order.
Plagiarised Plagiarized Cliff™ Technical Drawings
Counterfeiting Update, 25th February 2010
It has come to our attention that a number of Cliff™ technical drawings have been plagiarised plagiarized. Details of the drawings' origin have been removed and now show just the name "CLIFF". These changed drawings are available from the sites of our ex USA distributor, cliffcomponents.com and their associates cliffhongkong.com and cliffeurope.com.
Please note that genuine Cliff™ technical drawings of Cliff™ produced products always have our name and address written in a box in the bottom, left hand corner. If our contact details are not there, we can not guarantee the dimensions and RoHS data will be valid even though the drawing has a "CLIFF" name on. Users of these drawings should be wary. When designing in parts, the safest way is to use original drawings from Cliff™ Electronic Components Ltd. If in doubt then please contact us.
DIN Sockets and Terminal Posts
11th June 2009
Design changes on PCB mounting DIN sockets. Models we have been selling in the past are becoming obsolete. Replacement models have a different PCB raster. Please contact our engineering department for details.
Counterfeit Parts Update
from Cliff™ Electronic Components Ltd. (U.K.), 2nd January 2009
Cliff™ Electronic Components Ltd. (United Kingdom) is a design and manufacturing company and owners of Cliff™ patents, trademarks and global compliance certifications. We are aggressively pursuing legal means to stop our previous US distributor “Cliff Electronic Components Inc.” located in Topeka, Kansas and “Cliff Hong Kong” from using the Cliff™ name and selling counterfeit Cliff™ branded parts. Kansas Lawsuit Number 08C 1820.
We would encourage you to take a stand against counterfeiters who disregard intellectual properties laws. This has a detrimental impact on our industry, potentially causing the loss of jobs and funds for research and development. Copyright infringing companies put your products at risk with the possibility of contact or material failures, consumer injuries due to fire or shock and recalls of any finished product failures that are with your consumers. Unfortunately, Cliff™ Inc. and Cliff™ UK cannot be liable for any claims made by your customers, where counterfeit parts have been used.
Aside from the unlawful aspects there is an inherent deception and dishonesty characteristic to intellectual property crime. Often goods are sold as genuine and you are conned into thinking you are getting authentic parts. In addition, the offenders are free riding on the creativity and investment of others.
Cliff™ Inc. is a division of Cliff™ Electronic Components Ltd. U.K. and located in Benicia, California. This is the only authorised authorized distributor in North America to offer genuine Cliff™ products to customers. Look-alike components from any other companies do not meet UL approval and other universal standards. We are ready and able to take care of all your component needs. We encourage you to buy genuine Cliff™ parts direct from Cliff™ Inc. or Cliff™ UK.
Cliff™ can offer the following benefits:
- Standard Stock as required.
- Logistic warehouses in California, the U.K., China and Taiwan.
- Cliff™ UK owned manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom and Far East.
- We have our own 3D AutoCAD design team in the U.K. to help with customer’s custom designs and new product research and development.
- Customer service teams in the U.S. and the U.K.
- Cliff™ products are patented and owned by Cliff™ UK.
- Cliff™ products meet the requirements of UL, CE and ISO9001.
You can contact Cliff™ UK or Cliff™ Inc. if you have any queries.
Yours Sincerely,
Cliff™ Electronic Components Ltd.
Patent and trademark reference information:
S1 series jack sockets: U.S. patent number 6116959
TPP series terminal binding post assemblies: U.S. patent number 5719753
Cliff™ trademark number 1858355 registered in the United States, 18th October 1994 by Cliff™ Electronic Components Ltd. United Kingdom.
Counterfeit Product Alert
from Cliff™ Electronic Components Ltd. (U.K.), 18th March 2008
We have discovered that counterfeit Cliff™ products are entering the United States from a company calling itself CLIFF Hong Kong which has no connection to Cliff™ UK. They give the impression that the products are genuine and made to the original designs of Cliff™ Electronic Components U.K. using our long established sources of manufacture and supply. This is not the case for these counterfeit products. We will take the appropriate actions when we locate the exact manufacturing source.
In the meantime we feel it necessary to issue an alert so that our customers do not unwittingly purchase counterfeit products and risk further problems.
The following products are affected:
-
TP series Terminals
Certified by UL approvals E151339 and US patents 5380227 and 5719753. US registered design 349684 and U.S. registered Cliff™ trade mark 1858335
Please be wary of any vendor just giving the assurance that “the materials used are covered by UL approvals” when asked to produce UL approvals files. We have informed the UL counterfeiting bureau of products being passed off as UL approved. We expect that they will remove UL approval from any finished products found to contain counterfeits.
- StackJacks™
Models S1, S1C, S2C and S4C are covered by US patent 6116959 and U.S. registered Cliff™ trade mark 1858335.
Products which infringe our patent or bear the Cliff™ name are counterfeit unless they are supplied by Cliff UK™, one of our subsidiaries or an authorised authorized distributor.
All products shipped by
Cliff™ Electronic Components UK,
CPM China and
Cliff™ Inc. (our North American distributor in Benicia, California)
are our genuine products. You can be assured these are manufactured in ISO 9001 factories and carry genuine approvals in regard to UL, CE etc. This ensures they are manufactured from the stated materials and to the required specifications and tolerances.
Our genuine products will not put the UL approvals of your equipment at risk. Counterfeits will.
If you are unsure as to the provenance of any products or need copies of our UL approvals or ISO 9001 certification please contact us using the contact details listed below.
Cliff™ Inc. (USA)
Telephone: +1 707 746 8090
Fax: +1 707 746 8092
Cliff™ Electronic Components Ltd. (UK)
Telephone: +44 (0)1737 771375
Fax: +44 (0)1737 766012
