Siemens to develop better packaging capabilities
Packagingdigest.com has a story about Siemens and EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations)
"Up to now, pharmacists were reliant on visual checks to make sure that medicines were not counterfeit before dispensing to patients. But these days will soon be over. In the EFPIA's new coding and identification solution, pharmacists will check a unique identification code on each individual pack before it is dispensed to the patient. This 2D data matrix barcode, with a unique serial number, can be easily generated and printed on the packaging by the manufacturer."
Siemens and EFPIA are on the right path, first the supply chain then add a marker which will make the counterfeiters products easily identifiable. It would be a complete anti-counterfeit solution. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/30/2009
$100,000 of counterfeit products found in Newport, VA
HamptonRoads.com has a story of a counterfeiter(Mr. Diallo) caught:
Police seized more than $100,000 worth of counterfeit merchandise from a store at 3311 Jefferson Ave.
The merchandise seized was clothing, said Officer Harold Eley, a police spokesman.
Mamadou Diallo, 31, was charged with trademark infringement, police wrote in the release.
The charge is a Class 6 felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $2,500.
The counterfeiter and seller of counterfeit products needs to know that they can go to jail for selling counterfeit products.
Ideally companies need a multi-prong strategy to combat counterfeit products, consumer awareness, enforcement and an anti-counterfeiting
marker. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/29/2009
Ecstasy, Rainforests, and Beyond - the Unholy Alliance
Vanguard Blog mentions counterfeiters unholy alliance:
"A few months ago, Joanne Shen and I traveled to Cambodia to see how the global demand for ecstasy was helping drive the destruction of what was amongst the most pristine, intact rainforests in Southeast Asia. It’s a great example of how the demand for various goods can, and often has, massive, reverberating effects halfway around the world. These ‘ecstasy hunters’ are burrowing deep into the forest to obtain safrole oil, the precursor to MDMA, or ecstasy. This is the crucial ingredient for the drug."
The other interesting thought (inside Vanguard Blog) is that every product has a consequence, including these people who are counterfeiting, taking some measure of revenue from legitimate IP derived businesses, not to mention the effect illegal drugs have on the environment and people around this world.
Another effect of the money "earned" by the counterfeiters often goes to terrorists and criminals who obviously have no regard to the environment. We need an anti-counterfeiting solution for all legitimate businesses. Visit our website in the coming days as we add more content to our Solution webpage. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/29/2009
Learn how to spot a fake product
Metronews.ca has a story about the Canadian anti-counterfeiting network's Reality Tour2.0 which teaches law enforcement agencies on how to spot counterfeit products.
Products are found in Ottawa intermittently, said Toronto lawyer Brian Isaac, who is one of the event’s organizers, “but it’s a big problem everywhere across Canada.”
“It’s common sense,” said Isaac. “If it’s cheaper than another product … if the price is too good to be true, it’s probably a knockoff,” he said.
We need more tours and other efforts to increase awareness of the consumer, because the consumer is an important part of anti-counterfeiting efforts. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/28/2009
USAID Agreement to cover growing threat to medicine
Reuters.com has a news story covering the
Growing Threat of Substandard and Counterfeit Medicines in Developing Countries Addressed by New USAID-USP Cooperative Agreement.
Counterfeit medicines have harmed people in developing countries according to the
U.S. Agency for International Development.
"Substandard and counterfeit medicines represent a threat to public health
worldwide but pose a particular problem in developing countries, where lack of
financial, technical and other resources make it difficult to protect the drug
supply chains," said Gloria Steele, USAID acting assistant administrator for
Global health.
It would be great if each medicine could be authenticated with a non reverse-engineerable marker as well - to thwart those counterfeiters (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/27/2009
800000+ HP empty Boxes seized in Emirate of Sharjah
Ameinfo.com has a story from the Emirate of Sharjah (one of the UAE emirates) where monitoring agents have uncovered many items.
The counterfeit products seized by the SEDD's Legal Affairs Section included 1,939 HP stickers, 821,252 empty HP boxes and associated packaging, and 14,668 empty printer ink cartridges that would have been filled and sold to the consumer as original HP cartridges.
The counterfeiters are certainly an industrious bunch (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/26/2009
Fake Viagra Pills seized at Miami International Airport
The Miami Herald - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Miami International Airport intercepted 21,600 counterfeit Viagra pills that weighed a total of 50 pounds.
said Harold Woodward, director of field operations. ``In some cases a counterfeit item that does not meet the manufacturer's specifications can threaten the health or safety of a consumer.''
All medical pills, and especially the high profile ones are susceptible to c
ounterfeiting (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/23/2009
Five million cigarettes seized in Sri Lanka
The Daily News (Sri Lanka Daily Newspaper) Customs took into custody 4,853,000 cigarettes in 24,265 cartons worth Rs. 36,397,500. And that means 317044.79 Dollars. according to
coinmill.com. (Rs means Rupees). The Sri Lankan Rupee is LKR at the conversion website.
Apparently a number of playing cards were also confiscated:52000 worth 1.2mil Rs or $10452.74.
Cigarettes need a marker as well - to thwart those counterfeiters (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos 636-333-0900
10/22/2009
$1.4mil in counterfeit DVDs seized
Trans Loop Directory has a report of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) seizing 300,000 DVDs with a suggested retail price of 1.4million dollars.
The merchandise was shipped from China through Chicago and is now heading to Detroit.
Tony Zafiropoulos 636-333-0900
10/21/2009
Thailand wants to make buyers of fake goods complicit in crime
Bangkokpost.com has an article discussing the potential Thailand law of counterfeit products and the buyers of counterfeit products.
Critics say a draft provision that calls for fines against anyone purchasing or using a fake CD or knock-off handbag
could be an open invitation to abuse of authority and extortion, particularly by inspecting authorities or police.
"It's just 100 baht per DVD, cheaper than when I go to see the movie at the cinema. How can I resist? I can watch
the movie privately at home and sometimes my friends can borrow them," he said.
Tony Zafiropoulos 636-333-0900
10/20/2009
Automobile Parts can be counterfeit
CarsBelt.com Discusses the potential side effects of purchasing car parts that are counterfeit.
In Germany, fake VW parts as well as counterfeit BMW parts have surfaced compromising the quality
and safety of the two brands.
Examine the packaging and check for incorrect spelling. Ford auto filters have appeared on auto
supplier shelves with the words 'Food' substituted for Ford and 'Motograft' for Motorcraft.
carsbelt.com states the following counterfeit methods:
Brake pads containing sawdust
Fire extinguishers filled with flour
Transmission fluid laced with dyed oil
Filter stuffed with rags
So you need to purchase from reputable car supplier that supplies only authentic car parts. The ideal
is to buy from a company which has a system that shows you how to authenticate your products with a
Marker.(Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos 636-333-0900
10/19/2009
Counterfeit exercise equipment can hurt you
WXYZ.com Detroit Channel 7 reports on exercise equipment which turns out to be counterfeit:
Therese Randazo US Customs and Border Patrol states "We're increasingly seeing various types
of consumer products counterfeited, including the latest trend, exercise and fitness equipment."
In fact CBP has seized 32000 pieces, and if the counterfeit product has pulleys or wires with inferior
manufacture then you can get hurt instead of working out your muscles.
If we look under all the rocks instead of worms we find counterfeit products. To distinguish your product
(authenticate it), Use a marker which cannot be reverse engineered --- i.e. Swiss Authenticate it. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos 636-333-0900
10/15/2009
Semiconductor Industry Happy with counterfeit arrests
Reuters news story:
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) applauded the U.S. Attorney's
Office for the District of Columbia`s announcement of arrests and indictments
involving counterfeit semiconductors.
SIA President George Scalise stated:"Semiconducter counterfeiting is fraud,
pure and simple."
"Fraud arrests unfortunately are few and far between what happens on a daily basis. All companies must protect their products' authenticity for the days when no arrests are made" (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos 636-333-0900
10/14/2009
UN Secretary General urges action towards fake medicines
The Mail has a press release from Ban Ki-Moon which acknowledges the growing threat to humanity from fake medicines
Also, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) says it is hard to know or even estimate the true extent of the problem of counterfeit medicines. In an attempt to respond to this public health crisis, the agency launched the International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) in February 2006
"What everyone needs is a foolproof method of authentication, using a marker that cannot be reverse engineered" (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos 636-333-0900
10/13/2009
Swiss Authentication joins CACP
Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy: To fight the growing threat of counterfeiting and piracy to the economy, jobs, and consumer health and safety, the business community, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Intellectual Property Center, organized itself through a broad-based business coalition, the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy (CACP).
It is set up by the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and we are happy to join the effort.
According to some interesting
facts:
The Good
U.S. intellectual property is worth $5-5.5 trillion - more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of any other country. ("The Economic Value of Intellectual Property,"
USA for Innovation)
And the Bad
Counterfeiting and piracy impacts the U.S. economy with over $200 billion in lost sales each year. (Federal Bureau of Investigations)
Tony Zafiropoulos 636-333-0900
10/13/2009
Finland sees counterfeit cigarettes come in from Russia
Helsingin Sanomat, a Finnish newspaper has an article about the rising counterfeit cigarettes coming in to Finland.
In fact illegal consumption is anywhere from 5 to 15 percent of total cigarette sales, potentially 250 million cigarettes are counterfeit. In the first six months of the year 9 million cigarettes were confiscated. As many as 400 cigarette cartons have been seen stuffed in a passenger vehicle.
In Russia, one carton of 200 cigarettes can be bought for less than five euros, which is only one-tenth of the Finnish price. Marko Laitinen estimates that the value of an illegal carton is around EUR 15 in Finland.Looking at the total confiscated cigarettes (due to many reasons such as duties not paid etc.) 50% of the confiscated cigarettes are counterfeit.
"Another reason for the manufacturers to receive an authenticity
marker (which Swiss Authentication can provide)" (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos 636-333-0900
10/12/2009
HP exhibits at GITEX2009
EyeofDubai has an article describing HP's plans and goals for the middle east.
John Hoonhout, Managing Director, HP Middle East said: “We are fully committed to the Middle East market and GITEX Technology Week offers us the perfect platform to interact with our customers and partners
Further in the article HP's IPG group (Imaging and Printing Group) states its goals: IPG's focus is tackling the $200 Billion dollar anti-counterfeiting problem, and specifically the counterfeit ink cartridges which often do not work properly and harm the environment due to inferior quality.
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/11/2009
Codec and Soft Partnerkas
GlobalSecurityMag has an interesting informational story about fake software sales on the internet:
Dmitry Samosseiko's key sentence is: The site (The criminal fake website) claims the average traffic conversion rate is $100–$250 per 1K loads, which with $25 commission rate implies that up to 10 of every 1,000 users infected with a fake AV threat end up actually paying for it.
These sites create a partner network called partnerkas from Russia.
AV means anti-virus, so the fake software asks you to pay for some software that is not a real anti-virus software.
The webmaster could make $180,000 per year in commissions by getting unsuspecting Internet users to sign up for fake AV software.
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/09/2009
Sennheiser Electronics issues counterfeit alert
Sennheiserusa.com has a web page posting a counterfeit product alert and tips on what to do if you suspect a counterfeit product:
Also some good advice:
What are criteria that can help to spot a fake?
"Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast set of criteria to help identify a counterfeit product. The skills of the counterfeiters can often make it hard to visually distinguish a counterfeit from the original product. With that said, reliable warning signs include products being offered at an extraordinarily low price and products being offered by persons other than Sennheiser's authorized distributors.
Especially when buying on the Internet we suggest looking closely at the above mentioned criteria that would point to a fake product offering. Many products on online-auction platforms are counterfeits, so you cannot be sure that Sennheiser products being advertised as "new" are not counterfeits. If the price offered is very low, ensure that this Internet dealer is listed as an authorized dealer on our dealer locator. "
Yes involving the consumer will be great - it is a long road to educate the consumer, but it has to be done.
(Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/07/2009
Fake vs Real hard to distinguish
JoongAngDaily has an interesting analysis of real versus fake or counterfeit goods in China and Korea. (Cass is real local Korean beer, and CaFs is fake from China)
The article says that 320 Korean products are on display in the Korean Trade Investment protection agency with their real and fake product.
“It is hard to sue Chinese companies for intellectual property infringement or design violations,” said Chung Deok-bae from the Korean Intellectual Property Office in Shanghai.
Chung stressed that the companies are now applying their own technologies to develop “new” products.
“Since China was included in the World Trade Organization in 2001, the number of patents registered by Chinese companies in China has rapidly increased,” Chung said.
Apparently Chinese companies are creating their own patents in China, which are very similar to their counterparts elsewhere (and in specific Korea). (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/05/2009
4 Philadelphia businesses shut down - due to selling counterfeits
Philly.com has news of 4 stores in Philadelphia that were shut down due to selling counterfeit goods.
"The investigation included making undercover purchases, working with companies to verify that the goods were fake, and working with the Philadelphia Police Department's Major Crimes Unit", Drobny said.
"Counterfeit umbrellas, scarves, jewelry, wallets and shoes were also seized", Drobny said.
It is interesting to see that there are stores which get away with selling counterfeit goods for a while, it is as if they do not realize it is wrong to sell counterfeits? (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/03/2009
Kenya has a 40Billion Shilling loss due to counterfeit goods every year
From Daily Nation; an east African newspaper.
“Apart from unfair business competition, these counterfeits and substandard goods also affect the tax base of the country,” said Mr Smith who is also the Eveready East Africa chief executive officer. The Kenyan Association of Manufacturing has investigated.
Apart from the revenue there is also a health risk by using substandard products. With an unforgeable authentication marker this counterfeit trade in Afrika would come down. (Tony Zafiropoulos)
Tony Zafiropoulos
10/1/2009