Amazon Counterfeiters a Problem for Artists and Small Businesses
Designers of custom T-shirts, iPhone cases and pillow covers who sell their work through websites like Zazzle and Society6 are seeing copies of their products pop up at an alarming rate on Amazon.
A Facebook group named “Who stole my images?” has more than 350 members documenting examples of copyrighted designs being taken mostly from Zazzle and sold illegally on Amazon.Over the weekend, one artist said she just found 11 more pieces of her work on Amazon, bringing the total number of stolen designs she’d discovered to 88.
Counterfeit alcohol packaging is now more sleek,professional and harder to detect
Some counterfeiters are using ingredients or chemicals which are toxic to the human body to produce cheap fakes, with lifethreatening results.
The problem is the tools fraudsters are using to create realistic, highquality fake packaging are now available at a very low cost, which means counterfeit alcohol now looks sleek, professional and authentic – and much harder to detect with the naked eye.
To address the rise in fake wines and spirits, it is crucial that both alcohol producers and stockists take a proactive approach to educating their customers on how to identify imitations, and regularly search and highlight known counterfeit operations.
$100 million of counterfeit wine in circulation
Research from NetNames suggests that retailers are losing between $300m and $400m annually to copycats and counterfeiters, with wine counterfeit experts estimating that there is $100m of counterfeit wine currently in circulation.
Alcoholic drinks in particular are being regularly targeted by counterfeiters due to their premium price tag and because they are difficult to identify without tasting the product.
http://www.harpers.co.uk/news/100-million-of-counterfeit-wine-in-circulation/536678.article
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UP urged to check counterfeiting over e-commerce
ASPA has urged the UP government for mandating use of authentication marks, such as holograms in products, before they hit the shelves or are sold online, to counter the menace of counterfeits and fakes.
The Association has also launched its industry and consumer centric ‘Make Sure India’ campaign to educate brand owners over the benefits of authentication solutions to curb counterfeiting. This would ensure sale of genuine products and preserve the reputation of brands.
Illegal sites selling smuggled duty-free cigarettes on rise
According to data from Incheon Main Customs, cases of tobacco smuggling increased more than ninefold between 2014 and 2015, from 49 to 449. Illegal sites selling smuggled duty-free cigarettes at low prices have been steadily rising as the excise tax increase last year nearly doubled domestic tobacco prices.
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160523000683
Lear MoreMinistry confiscates 160 counterfeit drugs
KUWAIT CITY: The Ministry of Health (MoH) had confiscated a total of 160 counterfeit products. The products include antibiotics, lotions, beauty products and herbal medicines, all of which had not been registered.
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/ministry-confiscates-160-counterfeit-drugs/
Lear MoreAlibaba insists it can help fight counterfeit brand goods
ORLANDO: Alibaba said it still wanted to work with companies fighting counterfeit brand-name products, a week after the Chinese online shopping platform was kicked out of an industry coalition due to long-standing accusations that it has turned a blind eye to counterfeits.
Alibaba shopping sites contain a billion product listings, and the company says it is uniquely positioned to take on the global trade in fake goods which it estimates is a $500 billion market.
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Rikers Island guards took bribes, smuggled contraband: officials
NEW YORK — In another blemish on New York City’s troubled jail system, two Rikers Island correction officers and a cook accepted bribes from inmates to smuggle in contraband such as scalpels, synthetic marijuana and tobacco.
City hub for fake electronic goods
Hyderabad is fast emerging as a centre for counterfeit products, especially electronic goods. According to conservative estimates, 30-35% products in the city market are imitation of original products of major brands.
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Tom Steyer’s $2 Cigarette Tax Will Make California Smuggling Capital
With liberal billionaire Tom Steyer’s “Save Lives Coalition” gathering more than the 585,407 signatures required to put a $2-per-pack cigarette tax on the November ballot, California is poised to become the smuggling capital of America.