20 million counterfeit
phones blocked in India and Egyptbenedictspace.blogspot.com
blog entry:
{If Nigeria
does not put proper Intellectual Property (IP) protection
controls in place there will be no investment in that area of
establishing a phone factory here, Jussi Hinkkanen, vice president,
government relations, Middle East and Africa for Nokia Corporation has
said.
Hinkkanen added that government needs to realise that "for
us
to have new income sources for the national economy, we need to have IP
protection in place otherwise they would certainly be no investment from
the international phone manufacturers."
He lamented that the
issue
was creating an impediment inspite of Nigeria's enormous mobile phone
market. He observed that the counterfeit market currently constitutes
over 18 percent of the country's mobile handset business. "The reality
on ground is that if the country does not have proper Intellectual
Property (IP) protection in place there would be no investment in that
area of establishing a phone factory.
Hinkkanen stated: "Another
important one is basically the use of these
devices in occurrences or in interventions which affect national safety.
So, we see as an example currently from Egypt which a few weeks ago
basically blocked all the counterfeit devices off the national operating
network. This is because they cannot be recognised by the operating
network, technically.
"Each of these legal devices carries an ID
number called an IMEEI code and many of these fake devices do not carry
one. So, they are invisible to the network when you make a call and can
be used for terrorist activities. The Egyptian government blocked these
devices from the network as did the Indian government as well four
months ago in November of 2009. They blocked 20 million phones over
night."}
Millions of counterfeit and illegal phones are on the
phone systems in the phone networks. The phone companies themselves need
to authenticate the phones before allowing them to use the network. Of
course when you have illegal phones, which are most likely counterfeit
this would be difficult to enact. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony
Zafiropoulos
3/31/2010
120,000 pairs of Nike and .5 million Coach
counterfeits
wcbstv.com
story:
{
Federal prosecutors in Maryland announced the indictments Friday of
nine people on charges of smuggling 120,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike
shoes and half a million counterfeit Coach handbags through the Port of
Baltimore.
According to the 72-count federal indictment, undercover officers from
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement infiltrated the massive
operation in 2008, delivering a shipment of 10,000 Nike shoes to
Brooklyn, N.Y. The arrests came this week.}
This is just one
port, and one area in the US. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony
Zafiropoulos
3/30/2010
$2.2mil in electronics counterfeits seized in
Australia
cnn.com.au
story:
{Electronics were
present in more than a quarter of all counterfeit
seizures in 2009. If genuine, the electronics seized would be worth more
than $2.2m, a spokesperson estimated.
For comparison, electronics represented only 14 percent of seizures
in 2008, with an estimated potential retail value of almost $2m.}
Australia
is not immune to counterfeit products. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony
Zafiropoulos
3/29/2010
iPads cloned in China already - selling for
$290
Redmondpie.com
story:
{The Chinese
have done it yet again! They’ve managed to counterfeit
another Apple product, this time the yet to be released iPad. We’ve seen
Chinese iPhones in the past, so I’m not surprised by these Chinese iPad
clones. Keep your eyes wide open when you are buying one of these.
The
manufacturer of these counterfeit iPads, Shenzhen Huayi originate from
Shenzhen, Guangdong province in China. They have priced their iPad for
$290, that’s half the price of the original iPad! The release date of
the counterfeit iPad is the same as the original iPad, i.e. 3rd April .}
Counterfeiters
in Shenzen, Guangdong province are becoming even bolder and brazen
about their activities. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/28/2010
Russian
Economic zones allow Chinese counterfeits in
en.rian.ru
story:
{The flow of
counterfeit goods to Russia from China could increase
following the creation of a customs union between Russia, Belarus and
Kazakhstan, a Russian customs official said on Thursday.
Federal Customs Service department chief Oleg Ashurkov
said the
problem was that "China has a free economic zone on its border with
Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan."
Customs control will be moved to the union's external
borders: the
Belarusian border from July 1, 2010 and the Kazakh border from July 1,
2011. This means Russian customs will be unable to prevent illicit
imports on the Russian border.}
So the creation of
multiple economic zones will reduce custom control? Even if it seems
like there is something wrong with this picture, the underlying
assumptions of counterfeit goods are not going away, it is like water
rushing downhill, water will find the cracks in your house. Just like
Counterfeiters will find a way to bring their products into your country
to sell their goods. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/27/2010
$2.3mil
counterfeit products seized in WI - 2000 items
Media-Newswire.com
story:
{More than $2.3
million in counterfeit merchandise, including fake
designer handbags, shoes and other accessories, was seized at an Oak
Creek, Wis., residence Saturday by local agents with U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ).
Oak Creek Police Department
asked ICE agents for assistance March 20 after unusually heavy traffic
was observed to a rented house located at 8868 S. 27th St. An Oak Creek
police officer conducted a consent search and discovered that the house
was being used as a storefront to sell suspected counterfeit handbags,
belts, shoes and other items.}
It is very easy to create an
Internet store, import fake items and you have started up a shop that
sells counterfeit products. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/26/2010
Zambia
government destroyed K174Billion counterfeits
lusakatimes.com story:
{Government
yesterday destroyed over K174 billion worth of pirated
products confiscated by the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) at Lusaka
International Airport in January.
And Minister of
Information
and Broadcasting Services Ronnie Shikapwasha called on line ministries
to help find resources to fight piracy and sensitize the society on the
dangers of the vice.}
1 dollar to 4755 Kwacha means 36.6 million
dollars of counterfeit goods destroyed in Zambia. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/25/2010
Google
found not liable for adwords usage re: counterfeits
Geek.com
story:
{The court ruled
that Google had not infringed on anyone’s trademark by allowing their
free use as keywords. According to Google’s Blog, the court went on to
say that current European law would protect Google as an Internet
Hosting service in this regard and that this protection extends to
Google’s AdWords advertising system which controls the display of ads
based on the bidding of keywords. Protections do not extend to the
advertisers who may use trademark keywords based on a Bloomberg article.
The
Bloomberg article points out that advertisers who do not make it clear
what they are selling may be liable for use of a trademark keyword. An
example would be if an advertiser uses the keyword to attract consumers
in order to sell counterfeit products. An opening for Google to also be
liable may exist if a trademark owner notifies Google that an advertiser
is using its trademark to sell counterfeit goods and the search engine
fails to take action to stop it.}
The advertiser(or
counterfeiter) can still be held liable, but not Google. This ruling
places the onus on the Manufacturer again. The manufacturer has to
vigorously defend their product from counterfeiters, in many different
avenues. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/24/2010
6,500
counterfeit bearings seized in UK packaged as SKF
theengineer.co.uk
story:
{Police have seized
6,500 counterfeit bearings, imported to Sweden and
packaged as SKF products, reports Brammer, a UK supplier of maintenance,
repair and overhaul (MRO) products and services. The incident, it said,
is warning UK manufacturers about the dangers of buying components and
products through unauthorised sources.
The probability of
receiving counterfeit spares increases significantly if a company is not
vigilant about where it is sourcing its products from, said Jeremy
Salisbury, head of marketing at Brammer. He adds that the only way to
guarantee that genuine parts are being received is to buy through an
authorised distributor.
“Counterfeit parts may look identical
to the real thing but that is where the similarities end,” commented
Salisbury. “They may have a lower initial purchase cost, but the
potential costs that can be incurred down the line far outweigh any
initial savings achieved. They are likely to fail more quickly, leading
to unplanned downtime with all the costly ramifications that can
create.}
A
foolproof method of recognizing authentic from counterfeit goods has to
be used. Such as using an Authentication Marker
and a reader to read the marker. (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/23/2010
Counterfeiters
advertise on Google & could continue
nzherald.co.nz
story:
{Rights owners have
long complained about Google's practice of allowing
advertisers to promote their products to customers searching for a
rival's goods.
Software, airline, luxury goods companies and even a law firm have taken
Google to court in a bid to stop the practice, arguing that it hijacks
their brand name and misleads consumers.
The case being decided at the European Court of Justice in
Luxembourg
next week pits Google against a number of French luxury goods firms
including LVMH, the firm behind Louis Vuitton handbags.}
There
are also at least 8 lawsuits in the US that could effect how one
advertises on Google. The question in my mind is will counterfeiters be
able to continue to advertise in sneaky ways. (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/22/2010
620,000
Nike and Coach counterfeits seized in Maryland
Hometownannapolis.com
story:
{Federal
prosecutors in Maryland announced the indictments Friday of nine
people on charges of smuggling 120,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike shoes
and half a million counterfeit Coach handbags through the Port of
Baltimore.
According to the 72-count federal indictment,
undercover officers from
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement infiltrated the massive
operation in 2008, delivering a shipment of 10,000 Nike shoes to
Brooklyn, N.Y. The arrests came this week.
The products were
mostly
made in Malaysia and China. Three U.S. citizens are charged with
smuggling, trafficking counterfeit goods and money laundering. Four
Chinese citizens and two Malaysians also are charged.}
The
counterfeit deluge is continuing. (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/21/2010
£1million
in counterfeit items seized in London
timesonline.uk
story:
{Detectives have
seized thousands of items including counterfeit Versace,
Armani, Gucci, Nike and adidas products, thought to have a street value
of
£1 million, in co-ordinated raids on lock-ups across North London. They
have
also recovered almost £500,000 in cash from safety deposit boxes. The
City
of London Police believe the raids are one of the biggest seizures of
counterfeit goods in Britain.
Detectives estimate that each container was worth £700,000 to
the gang,
who
set themselves up as a business with a managing director, financial
director
and someone in charge of their property portfolio. Rather than flaunt
their
wealth, they are thought to have sent most of the money abroad while
living
relatively modestly lifestyles in London.}
Make no mistake about it, the
counterfeiters have a sophisticated operation, with the look of a
standard business. (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/20/2010
Newspaper stories about Swiss Authentication RD AG
Translation:
With "Rare Earth" the fight against counterfeiters. From the Münchner
Merkur 4/28/2008
Rare earth Metals are
Lanthanide
elements(Tony)
Translation:
New Weapon against counterfeiting, Light emissions "rare earth metal"
Signature. From the Frankfurter Allgemeine 6/17/2008
Translation:
Innovation - Secret material protects from counterfeiters, which now
have a more difficult time. German Chemists, Physicists, and Security
Enigneers have developed a new material that will protect against
counterfeits. From the "Die Welt" 6/9/2008
We were just
given the links, images and pdf files (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/19/2010
New website showing where to report a fake product
isitfake.org
website:
{
Their list
of websites to combat counterfeiting:
}
There is a groundswell of companies
and organizations wanting to make a difference in the fight against
counterfeit products. (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/19/2010
Suggestions on how to manage Intellectual Property
Intellectual
Asset Management An Indian website post:
{
Section 103 of the Trademarks Act provides
that the application of a false trademark or false trade description is
punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to
Rs200,000 (approximately $5,000), while Section 104 sets down penalties
for the sale of goods or the provision of services to which a false
trademark or a false trade description is applied. Finally, Section 105
provides tougher penalties for second and subsequent convictions.
Any
company whose products are at risk of
counterfeiting should have proper policies and procedures in place to
manage this threat. In order to formulate an effective
anti-counterfeiting strategy, protect products and customers from the
risks of counterfeiting and protect brand value, every company should
use techniques which:
- Make it difficult to counterfeit its products.
- Enable
its products to be distinguished from counterfeit
products.
Some measures which may be adopted in order to formulate an effective
strategy against counterfeiting include the following.
Visible features
The use of overt features such as the shape, style and size of the
packaging can enable a company to teach customers how to distinguish its
products from those emanating from other sources. Furthermore, these
same features may be used in order to make it difficult to make copies
of the original product or packaging.
Hidden features
Covert features can enable a company to detect counterfeit products.
This will help the regulatory authorities to distinguish counterfeits
from original products, as covert features such as labels printed with
invisible ink, radio frequency identification, holograms and
watermarking are not easy to detect or copy without specialist knowledge
or equipment.}
And it would be even better if there was a hidden or
covert authentication
marker or taggant that is not possible to be reproduced. Such a
taggant would make the real product impossible to counterfeit. (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/18/2010
In Brunei counterfeit goods are a way of life
Brudirect.com
story:
{Despite the
country's progress towards strengthening its intellectual
property rights, the acceptance and market for counterfeit goods
continues to burgeon and prevail amongst the mindset of the vast
majority of the population.
"It is the way of life in Brunei. We are so used to being spoilt that
we tend to go for the cheapest option, despite the quality, mainly
because it also carries the same function," commented 22-year-old
undergraduate,
Fai Zaini, who also noted that people tend to
purchase
counterfeit products as opposed to genuine items - as being part of a
mindset that can be influenced by a society's lifestyle.
Similar to some countries, Brunei sees the advertising of
fake
products as less controversial than in other countries, as fake goods
are advertised freely on shopping websites as well as on the shelves.}
The world
has to deal with these cultural differences regarding Intellectual
Property. (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/17/2010
Ghost shift producing Kingston memory counterfeits
Blog.kinaxis.com
story:
{Bunnie Huang,
Founder of Chumby Industries was called in to look at a quality problem
with one of his products, the Chumby one – a handheld digital device. It
turns out that the memory card being used in the product failed the
quality tests. The failing memory cards were all Kingston branded and
all from a single batch. When Bunnie tried to exchange the cards from
that batch, Kingston refused because the memory cards had already been
programmed.
Not to be dissuaded, Bunnie did some detailed (and
I mean DETAILED – check
out Bunnie’s post to see
the extents he went to) investigation and was able to determine that the
defective cards were very likely produced on the same machines as the
certified
Kingston memory. This led Bunnie to believe that the Micro SD cards he
had been
sold had been run in a “ghost shift”. A ghost shift is where a rogue
worker
walks into the factory after hours and runs off a couple hundred units
of a
product without the knowledge or consent of the factory. Further, there
is no
quality control checks made on the finished product, and the products
are often
made with rejected materials. When presented with this evidence,
Kingston
decided to exchange Bunnie’s defective chips with new ones.}
This
is a common problem, an extra shift produces material with slightly
different looks and thus circumventing the standard supply chain and
revenue streams. Creating a clandestine counterfeit product like this
causes many problems for the host company (this time Kingston). (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/16/2010
European counterfeit Drugs valued at 10.5Billion
Euros
In-Pharmatechnologist.com
has the story:
{Counterfeit
drugs worth €10.5bn ($14.3bn) are sold in Europe each year
with Germans and Italians being the biggest consumers of such products,
according to new Pfizer sponsored research.
The “Cracking Counterfeit
Europe” study asked 14,000 people in 14 countries if they had ever
purchase prescription only drugs without a prescription, with and
average of 21 per cent saying that they had, rising to 38 per cent in
Germany and Italy.
Jim Thomson, chair of the European Alliance for Access to Safe Medicines
(EAASM), was one of the first to respond to the findings, telling Reuters
that: “Counterfeit medicine is costing the industry a huge amount of
money but it's costing healthcare providers a lot more."}
21% of the people surveyed knew they were buying
counterfeit drugs, with 38% in Germany and Italy. The draw of the
inexpensive deal is strong. If they only knew they are placing their
lives in danger. (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/15/2010
Surgical Mesh counterfeit
AP
story:
{The Food
and Drug Administration is warning doctors and patients
about counterfeit surgical mesh being illegally marketed under the C.R.
Bard brand name.
The FDA has identified thirteen lots of Bard
Flat
Mesh that were not actually made by the company. The counterfeit
products come in four sizes.
The agency said in a
statement it has
not determined whether the mesh is safe for use. Surgical mesh is used
to reinforce soft tissue following an operation.}
All
products must be checked for counterfeit products. (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/14/2010
President Obama favors copyrights and IP laws
CNET
story:
{In the
president's speech, he signaled his administration plans to help
crack down on worldwide piracy.
"There's nothing wrong with other people using our technologies,
we
welcome it," Obama said. "We just want to make sure that it's licensed
and that American businesses are getting paid appropriately. That's why
the (U.S. Trade Representative) is using the full arsenal of tools
available to crack down on practices that blatantly harm our businesses,
and that includes negotiating proper protections and enforcing our
existing agreements, and moving forward on new agreements, including the
proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)."
The president's stand on these issues were welcomed by some
copyright
owners and representatives of the entertainment industries.
"We applaud the president's recognition that it's U.S. ingenuity and
creativity that is helping to drive the economy," said Rick Cotton, NBC
Universal's general counsel. "We think that what should follow from this
is the need for much stronger action in enforcement and by
intermediaries who allow their infrastructure to be used to distribute
stolen digital content or counterfeit products.}
This stand
is not a surprise, although there may have been a segment of the open
source copyright community which hoped that President Obama would listen
to their copyright views. The open source community is perfectly happy
sharing technology with each other, but the rest of the world still does
not equate sharing software techniques with sharing how a product is
made, or copying products and using the marketing muscle of real
products. (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/13/2010
Chinese rural consumers buy counterfeit goods
China
Global Times story:
{Counterfeit
food product and beverages without quality assurance
certificates or production permits are sold widely in rural areas,
posing health risks to villagers and especially children, a published
report said.
China Quality Survey Magazine reported Thursday, ahead of
International Consumer Rights Day on Monday, that fake Nutri-Express, a
milk shake beverage, is sold for as little as 20 yuan ($2.9) per box at
grocery stores in Jiaxiang county, Jining, Shandong Province.
Counterfeit products are sold for much less than genuine ones.
Coca-Cola, Mizone Formulated Sports Water and milk
products from Yili
and Mengniu are also reproduced illegally.}
Due to their poverty Chinese rural
consumers are buying cheaper, counterfeit goods, even if they are not
quality goods. (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/12/2010
Burberry suing
TJMaxx over counterfeit Goods in storeReuters
story:
{Burberry Group Plc (BRBY.L),
a maker of luxury apparel, scarves and handbags, has sued TJX
Cos (TJX.N), accusing the operator of
the off-price TJ Maxx,
Marshalls and HomeGoods stores of selling counterfeit goods.
The
trademark lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court
on March 3, the same week the handbag and briefcase maker Coach
Inc (COH.N) filed a similar complaint against discount retailer
Kmart Corp, a unit of Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O).
Luxury goods
companies are protective of their trademarks,
fearing that misuse will damage their reputation, confuse
consumers and reduce sales.}
The retailer has
to have authentication mechanisms in place as well as the rest of the
supply chain. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/11/2010
NewEgg Found
Distributor IPEX sent 300 CounterfeitsHexus.net
has the story:
{ According to the retailer, the chips are indeed
counterfeit products and were shipped to Newegg from supplier IPEX, who
claims to have mistakenly shipped what it believed to be "demo units".
Having
confirmed that the products are counterfeit, Newegg has swiftly ended
its relationship with IPEX and is now working to resolve any outstanding
issues with orders relating to the Core i7 920 part.}
Someone
made a mistake, as no one needs 300 demo units. They did look fake when
one opened the box. A cursory glance would not uncover the counterfeit
nature of the product. Companies need to be aware of counterfeits, and
authenticate the products. It looks like NewEgg has severed it's
relationship with IPEX. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/10/2010
Hold
supplier performance in breach if counterfeits found
SpendMatters.com
blog discusses counterfeiting in supply chain:
{
Why is counterfeiting on the rise?
For one, it's because
suppliers know they can get away with focusing their energies elsewhere,
paying limited attention to the issue. Still others, further up the
food chain, assume that others in the supply chain are testing their
parts. In reality, testing and authentication levels are less than what
they need to be; moreover, the counterfeiting problem is compounded by a
lack of traceability. According to the article, the central challenge
is that "procurement organizations at times cannot trace purchased parts
back to their points of origin with any degree of certainty. This is
further compounded by the fact that many components are provided by
offshore suppliers, making verification more difficult.
How
can companies address the counterfeit issue?
They should put
in place rigorous supplier performance-management programs that hold
suppliers in breach of contract and financially accountable if
counterfeit parts are detected. Just as supplier audits for invoice
accuracy have a direct financial incentive (e.g., billing back suppliers
for overcharges), so should counterfeit-part audits}
Holding
suppliers more accountable starts with putting more emphasis on
authentication of the supply chain. Authenticate your
products, then detect them as they come into your distribution network.
(Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/9/2010
Counterfeit candy from China seized in Uganda
New Vision Online
(Uganda website) has a story:
{The
sweets branded Jingles Yogurt were recovered from KAM IMPEX on Giant
Arcade in Kikuubo, the city’s business hub.
Charles Kalule, the
UNBS head of market surveillance, explained that the sweets were
imitated from those manufactured by Aldor Yogueta from Colombia.
“The
importers of the counterfeited sweets will have to provide import
documents and import inspection certificates.
“The exhibits have
been taken for laboratory tests,” said Kalule.
Kalule disclosed
that the standards watchdog was concerned about the increased
counterfeit goods on the market.}
No
industry is immune from counterfeiting, including candy industry. (Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/8/2010
300 Processors shipped by Newegg were fake
A
forum (tribalwar)
has an example of some Intel processor counterfeits, also overclockers
forum mentions that Newegg had shipped out 300 counterfeit CPU's:
Notice
for the fake fan on the left (each retail CPU comes shipped with a CPU
fan), is an epoxy with a sticker that makes it look like a fan. The fan
on the right is what it should look like. Fortunately for the consumer
this was an easy counterfeit product spot:
The
Cpu was fake (with solder on top):
If a cpu
has solder on its contact area it is useless.
The genius
of this counterfeiter was spent on the packaging:
Notice the
well designed hologram (looks so close to the real one - it passes as
one).The the text and bar coding look real, and in passing this looks
like a real CPU box. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/7/2010
China primary counterfeiting product source of origin
Financial
Times data shows country of origin, number, and percentage of
counterfeit products found from that country seized at EU borders in
2008 (double the number of items seized during 2007):
{CD's
DVD's 79.2mil China (68%)
packs of
20 cigarettes 41.9 million UAE (56%)
Medicines 8.9 million India
(52%)
Pairs of shoes 5million China (88%)
Clothing 5.2 million
China (60%)
Electrical Equipment 5 million China (72%)
Fashion
accessories 5 million China (88%)
Toys, games 5 million China (90%)
cosmetics,
personal care 4.6 million China (55%)
Jewelery, watches 1.5 million
China (84%)}
Except for
cigarettes(UAE) and medicine(India) China is exporting millions of
counterfeit items. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/6/2010
2.5million Euros of counterfeit
Golf Clubs sold on Ebay
Irishtimes.com
story:
{The
ringleader of a gang behind a “highly sophisticated and profitable”
multimillion-euro operation to sell fake golf clubs on eBay has been
jailed for more than four years.
The global conspiracy,
described as the largest fraud of its kind uncovered on the popular
auction website, unravelled only when a British pensioner complained to
her local council’s trading standards team.
Most of the
counterfeit clubs were made in China and then distributed around the
world through an international network of criminals, a court in London
heard.
Prosecutors described the operation to sell the
fake clubs and other merchandise through eBay between June 2003 and
March 2008 as “a conspiracy of a truly global nature”.
The
conspirators sold tens of thousands of items of golf equipment and more
than €2.5 million was paid into their PayPal accounts during this
period.}
Until
Ebay can confirm authentication of products no one can be sure of what
they are buying. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/5/2010
$18mil in Counterfeit Handbag Goods seized
SeattlePI.com
story:
{Fake
handbags could mean real jail time for 10 accused counterfeiters charged
in a multimillion-dollar Seattle knockoff ring following a string of
raids.
Nearly two years after Seattle police launched
an investigation into the alleged knockoff ring, King County prosecutors
have filed counterfeiting charges against the alleged conspirators.
According
to court documents, the investigation launched in 2007 netted 40,000
items -- from counterfeit basketball shoes to sunglasses to brand-name
handbags -- worth $18 million on the street.
Seattle
police initiated the investigation into several Seattle businesses
thought to be dealing in counterfeit brand-name merchandise, according
to investigators' statements and search warrant requests. Detectives and
private investigators hired by the copyright holders made numerous
undercover purchases of counterfeit goods, which have now resulted in
criminal charges for the first time.}
Handbags
are also susceptible to counterfeit manufacturer's, it has to do with
the profit potential. The counterfeit manufacturers do not have to
invest in marketing, new product development, just copying research,
deceiving the supply chain etc. The real manufacturing companies have to
authenticate the supply chain. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/4/2010
Electronic counterfeits estimated to top $100Billion
Another
BusinessWeek
article:
{In the
past five years, counterfeit computer chips, routers, and other
electronic products have "become an epidemic," says PCX Chief Executive
Gil Aouizerat. The number of counterfeit electronic products uncovered
in the defense industry alone more than doubled in 2008 to 9,356, from
3,868 in 2005, according to a January 2010 report by the Commerce Dept.
Fake gear costs the information technology industry an estimated $100
billion a year, according to the National Electronics Distributors Assn.
A
counterfeit product is typically less reliable than the real thing, if
it works at all. Fakes can impede tasks as varied as automotive
navigation, medicine dispensing, and intelligence gathering. In January,
Ehab Ali Ashoor, a Saudi citizen who lives in Sugar Land, Tex., was
convicted of purchasing and selling counterfeit Cisco Systems (CSCO)
parts intended for use by the Marine Corps. to monitor troop movement,
relay intelligence, and maintain base security in Iraq, according to the
Justice Dept. "Counterfeiting is a very serious issue that impacts the
entire high-tech industry on a global level, and Cisco and other leading
IT companies have been actively addressing this issue for several years
now," says Cisco spokesperson Kristin Carvell.
In
2007, a malfunctioning router used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection
at the Los Angeles International Airport resulted in delays for 17,000
passengers, according to the Homeland Security Dept. The problem was
caused by a counterfeit version of a component designed to aid
communications with the network, says Peter Hlavnicka, treasurer at the
Alliance for Gray Market and Counterfeit Abatement. The anticounterfeit
organization was formed in 2001 by 3Com , Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard
, Nortel, and Xerox.}
Malfunctions can happen more frequently
and harm your product reputation. One must prevent the counterfeits from
entering the supply chain in the first place. Authenticate the
parts as in these examples.(Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/3/2010
Intellectual property theft caused a loss of 750000 jobs
BusinessWeek
story:
{Consider
these statistics: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that
intellectual property theft costs domestic businesses $200 billion to
$250 billion a year in lost revenue, and has resulted in a loss of
750,000 jobs in the U.S. alone. In 2003, the Business Software Alliance
estimated that a mere 10% reduction in software piracy could add $400
billion to the lawful, taxable, global economy. In turn, this would lead
to the generation of over 1.5 million jobs, as well as $64 billion in
additional taxes.
Yet it would be a mistake to discuss
the cost of counterfeiting merely in economic and financial terms. Fake
technology also presents big safety risks. In some cases it can
undermine national security.
According to Dan Baldwin,
assistant commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, entire
bank branches went offline for days in 2004 after the failure of fake
wide-area-network interface cards installed in routers. In the same year
a government agency conducted a network upgrade to its North American
weather communication system using counterfeit network hardware. The
network hardware and the entire communication system failed upon
installation.
Preinfection of counterfeit devices
One of
the most notorious areas that counterfeiters exploit is the provision of
hard-to-get and obsolete parts. Their victims are industries exempt
from Restriction of Hazardous Substances laws such as military,
aerospace, and health care, which often require parts that have been
discontinued by manufacturers.}
Counterfeit Goods have to be rooted out
and found before they are placed in production and in customer networks.
The customer and manufacturer should be able to tell if it is a product
that is legitimate or counterfeit. And the only way to combat this
problem is with Authentication
Markers and Readers.(Tony
Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/2/2010
Counterfeiting is in Asian culture where IPR laws are
new
ko-kr.facebook.com
post:
{The
Emergence of Counterfeit product Business in the Asian Market
There
is no reputable product that does not run a severe risk of being
counterfeited. The main reason for counterfeiting activities is that due
to the inexpensive price of counterfeit products, the demand is strong,
therefore the margins are high. However, the sale of counterfeit
products has become a serious threat to consumers and national
economies. It is reasonable because the consumer who buys a counterfeit
product believing it to be genuine will blame the legitimate
manufacturer when it fails. The producers thus lose both reputation and
future sales potential resulting in a decline of profitability, and can
have serious impacts on the labour force, and government’ tax revenue.
The
selling of counterfeit products has been a growing problem in the USA
today, and Asia is of particular concern to the US due to a few reasons.
Asia is home to a number of big emerging markets (BEM’s) such as China,
India, Indonesia, and South Korea, whose population and purchasing
power are rapidly expanding and promise an ever richer consumer base for
IP products. However, many of whom have technology intensive sectors
which are in competition against US firms, and the Asian emerging
markets are also home to some of the world’s most powerful counterfeit
good producers. Briefly, Asia is enormously considered as the worst
violator of intellectual property rights’ the world over. Even though
the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been working on reducing
intellectual property right violation through a worldwide business
agreement, mushrooming of the counterfeit products problem in Asia seems
far from the expected solution of intellectual property owners. Jacobs
et al. (2001) argues that many Asian countries have been industrialised
for only a short time. Therefore these nations do not have the legal
infrastructure to support Intellectual Property Rights. Often, even, if
the laws are established, the enforcement is ‘sluggish, irregular, or
nonexistent’. Indeed, most business people from this area are
entrepreneurial in nature and have no moral restraints against using
another means as their own. In fact, it may be culturally acceptable to
take part in actions that would be considered counterfeiting in some
cultures. The phenomenon of counterfeiting, therefore, seems to be
supported by their culture.
Supported by McDonald and
Roberts (1994), they also point out that most of the IPR infringements
taking place in Asian countries may stem from cultural differences in
morality and perspectives between people in the East and the West.
Cultures differ in terms of the entity to which they assign a right of
ownership. Asian cultures traditionally emphasize individual developers
or creators being obliged to share their developments with society.
Consequently, new ideas and technology are considered as public means.}
That would
explain the enormous amount of counterfeit product coming out of asia
and flooding the world.(Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
3/1/2010