Update 7/15/2105 by Caleb Denison: Shortly after the Dot project was shut down on Kickstarter, So Special Labs moved it to competing site Indiegogo, where the project managers continue to be the target of heavy criticism. We interviewed Ivan Kan, co-founder of So Special Labs, and you will find our op-ed at the link below:

Update 7/10/2015 by Caleb Denison: This article has been updated to reflect news of this project’s suspension and offers further commentary on the developments as they happen.

At approximately 3:00 Pacific Time, Kickstarter suspended the Dot Bluetooth earbud project. Kickstarter offered the following statement in an email to project backers: 

A review of the project uncovered evidence that it broke Kickstarter’s rules. We may suspend projects when they demonstrate one or more of the following:

Accordingly, all funding has been stopped and backers will not be charged for their pledges.

The suspension comes on the heels of concerns expressed by backers in the project’s comment section over a strikingly similar-looking product offered on a Chinese electronics manufacturer’s website. In response to backer inquiries, the Dot project’s creator, Ivan Kan, stated that he had contacted the factory in question and “were in full, happy cooperation.”

Later, Kan uploaded CAD and PCBA files to the project’s page and sent them to Kickstarter, apparently in an effort to show that the intellectual property was that of he and his team at So Special Labs. Skeptical backers remained unconvinced that the Dot’s design was original and belonged to Kan and his team, and continued to request a definitive statement or proof that the design was original, not sourced from the Chinese manufacturer. Those assurances never came — Kan’s limited responses often came several hours after multiple requests for updates.

While it is certainly possible that Kan sourced the Dot from Shenzhen EnJoYou Electronics Co. Ltd and was marketing it as his own invention, it is also plausible that the manufacturer is responsible for hijacking Kan’s design. It is not uncommon for a manufacturer to illegally clone a design obtained while working with a client to develop a product and market it in Asia. If this is the case and Kan has no patent, then it is possible he would have no legal recourse.

Many questions remain, and Digital Trends is scheduled to speak with Kan later today. We will update this story at that time. Until then, one thing is clear: Kickstarter isn’t taking any chances in this case, and believes its backers shouldn’t either.

Original Story: