Fake bike kit costing industry millions a year
Ten websites selling fake cycling kit such as counterfeit frames and jerseys have been shut down by US authorities – but one specialist has warned that the issue of fake goods is growing and costing the industry millions in lost revenue. Top American brand Specialized and Invista, the company behind Lycra and Coolmax fabric, worked with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officers in Houston, Texas, to shut down the international sites this week. Officers seized more than US$90,000 (almost £60,000) in funds from PayPal and other accounts connected with the operations. However, Andrew Love, of Specialized’s Brand Security, Global Investigations, and Legal Enforcement department, told BikeRadar: “We’re under sustained attack right now.” Love, whose full time job is to hunt forgeries, shut down US$20,000 of counterfeit business in 2007 but saw that figure escalate to a massive US$5.2m in 2012. “We’re already halfway there this year,” he said, adding that quality of the counterfeits was “all over the place” but the best was improving all the time, making it harder for consumers to spot fakes.
http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/fake-bike-kit-costing-industry-millions-a-year-37212/
Lear MoreFake branded cosmetics worth Rs 10 lakh seized
A team of Patna police, assisted by Hindustan Unilever Limited ( HUL) officials, on Saturday conducted raids at two cosmetics godowns at Nageshwar Colony under Buddha Colony police station area here and seized fake cosmetics of the nationally reputed brands worth Rs 10 lakh. The godown owner, Deepak Kumar, has been arrested and an FIR lodged against him. The seized products included shampoos, body lotions, face packs, face creams, cohol and mascara, hand wash, make-up kits, hair colour, baby diapers, shaving kits, detergents, dental products and hair products. SSP, Patna, Manu Maharaj, said after the raids, “Police will take stringent action against persons involved in the business of fake cosmetics. Such cosmetics are dangerous for health, so we will ensure that a chargesheet is filed at the earliest. The police will also ensure that this business is stopped permanently.” Murtaja Hussain, an official of the HUL’s legal department, said, “Many shops in the heart of the city also openly retail such fake products. But sealing the godowns was important as their owners are the suppliers of such products in Patna market.” State drug controller Hemant Kumar Sinha said, “Most of the seized products are made in Delhi or Ludhiana but carry the labels of a number of foreign brands. Low-quality skincare products might damage the skin. The fake branded cosmetics have found their way not only to small outlets but also the supermarkets and malls.” Some products are even made locally. Hussain said, “Earlier also, we had helped police seize such fake cosmetics from various reputed stores in the city. But we failed to bust the factories where such products are made.” When the cosmetics company officials surveyed the local market, they were surprised to find the stores full with their products. But there was no matching demand from the company of the products from Patna market. “We sent the samples of various products to laboratories to check their genuineness. Only after getting reports from the laboratories that the products were fake, we helped the police seal the godowns and stores dealing in them,” said Hussain.
Lear MoreFDA develops handheld device to spot fake malaria drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that U.S. partners in Ghana will begin using a federally developed handheld device to screen for fake or diluted versions of two common malaria pills.
More than a third of malaria-fighting pills used in Africa and Asia are either fake or bad quality, according to a study released last year. Rampant drug counterfeiting has undermined efforts to fight the mosquito-borne disease, which causes fever, chills and flu-like illness. Malaria kills more than 660,000 people each year, more than 90 percent of them in Africa.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-develops-handheld-device-to-spot-fake-malaria-drugs/
Lear MoreToo good to be true: the real price of fake products
When we hear the word counterfeiting we tend to think of criminal gangs printing bags of money. However, according to the Vice President of the European Commission Antonio Tajani, counterfeiting activities account for over 200 billion euro in losses for the world economy in the market for medicines, fashion goods, food products, car parts, electrical appliances, cosmetics and children’s toys, and it’s getting worse. “They harm the European economy, as they damage legitimate business and starve innovation. And fake goods compete unfairly with genuine products, putting many jobs at risk in Europe,” says Tajani. According to the European Union the problem of counterfeiting poses health and safety risks and “has become a major handicap to growth and employment.” In a bid to combat this new plight Tajani and Commissioner Michel Barnier, responsible for internal market and services, recently called upon European citizens to be aware of the risk of buying fake goods. The latest EU campaign to raise awareness of counterfeiting and the impact it has on local business aims to promote closer co-operation between the European Commission, national authorities – including law enforcement agencies and customs – and consumers, producers and trade associations to stop the production and circulation of counterfeit goods and calls on all Europeans to “make a stand against fake products and buy original products.”
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/23659-too-good-to-be-true-the-real-price-of-fake-products/
Lear MoreAnti-Counterfeiters Focus On Organised Crime, Softer Public Message
The unsuspecting consumer must above all be protected against counterfeit products, speakers said today at meeting of private sector, intergovernmental and governmental representatives. But increasingly organised crime is dealing the products, and anti-counterfeiting forces need to be as innovative as possible to defeat it. Fortunately, the private sector is ready to step up to help cash-strapped governments, and it is taking the “respect for IP” message to … children. The 7th Global Congress on Combatting Counterfeiting and Piracy is taking place from 23-25 April in Istanbul, Turkey, one of the world’s biggest international crossroads. The congress is co-sponsored by the World Customs Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization and Interpol. Turkey has been telling the world for years that there is terrorism supported by trafficking, smuggling, money and counterfeit products that it cannot stop from leaking through its long, mountainous borders, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the opening of the meeting. “No one is losing lives due to bullets or bombs in Turkey, but toxic drugs” are killing its young people, he said, adding an appeal for help from other nations.
Kunio Mikuriya, secretary general of the World Customs Organization (WCO), said organised crime networks are “deeply involved,” making huge profits from illicit trade. But now the problem is the internet, with money crossing borders. They keep innovating, so “we have to innovate too,” he said. He cited an example of customs moving into IPM technology in the mobile sector, allowing a scan of items to determine their legitimacy. World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry said intellectual property provides a basis for market order, and is a means of converting knowledge into assets. It is a framework in which intellectual assets can be traded, he said.
Lear MoreIllicit trade, fakes burn cigarette firms’ revenue
India is fifth largest market of illicit cigarettes, says Euromonitor. Organised sector cigarette manufacturers, including the market leader ITC, are feeling the pinch of illicit trade in cigarettes in India, which has grown enormously. According to Euromonitor International, India is the fifth largest illicit cigarette market in the world. In fact, the overall market for illicit cigarettes in India is now estimated at around 18 per cent, of which approximately 70 per cent is excise evaded domestic manufacture. Consequently, the combined loss on account of illicit trade (illegal manufacture and contraband) is estimated to be in excess of Rs 6,000 crore. According to Tobacco Institute of India consumers are being forced to shift to cheaper and revenue inefficient forms of tobacco consumption, including illicit. As a result, not only are revenue collections being sub-optimised, but also, overall tobacco consumption is increasing. While cigarette consumption has come down 16 per cent (from 86 million kg to 72 million kg) between 1981-82 and 2011, consumption of non-cigarette forms has gone up 26 per cent (from 320 million kg to 403 million kg) during the period. “Independent market research indicates that, in India, whilst there is a fall in volumes of duty paid cigarettes by 4.4 per cent during the period 2005 to 2010, the duty-not-paid volumes grew by 49.3 per cent during the same period. India has now been recognised as one of the leading destinations for illegal cigarettes,” ITC’s latest directors’ report said. Not just cigarette makers, but independent sector analysts also pressed the panic button over illicit cigarette trade. Ritwik Rai, analyst at Kotak Securities said extreme high excise duty and VAT rate on cigarettes in India make smuggling a particularly attractive proportion. “Smuggled and local cigarettes are increasingly becoming a nuisance for the organised players,” said Ra
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Counterfeit luxury goods invade Chicago
Main PointsStatus-seekers don’t have to go to New York or Los Angeles to find luxury knockoffs. They can pick up counterfeit handbags, shoes, belts or sunglasses right here at flea markets, storefront shops, sidewalk stands, “purse parties” and, unwittingly, even high-end department stores.More than 100,000 fakes with a suggested retail value of more than $5 million were seized in the Chicago area during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Homeland Security Investigations, one of the federal agencies policing the counterfeit market. That, of course, is only what this one agency confiscated.Authorities seized 12 vanloads of bogus Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel and Burberry bags at Montana Charlie’s Flea Market in Bolingbrook in August. A Cicero woman was arrested a month earlier on charges of possessing more than 500 fake designer handbags worth in excess of $500,000. And last May two women from central Illinois were arrested after police discovered more than 15,000 brand-name knockoffs valued at $1.6 million. After pleading guilty, they were sentenced to prison for two and three years. “What people don’t realize is that Chicago is definitely the third-largest marketplace for the sale of counterfeit merchandise,” says Kevin Read, vice president of Edward R. Kirby & Associates, a private detective and criminal investigation firm in Elmhurst that is retained by several of the world’s premier brands to investigate
Lear MoreOfficial cautions against fake solar power items
People should be careful while buying solar power products as fake items have flooded the market. Buyers should ensure that the solar modules (or panels), home lights, lanterns, solar fans and the batteries they are paying for are worth the money as many people are being duped with low quality products. This was stated by Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary of the Union ministry of new and renewable energy, at the inauguration of a workshop on ‘Renewable energy and conservation of energy’ here on Thursday. According to him, if high quality solar power goods are used, every house in every village would have at least two lights in the next five to seven years. “While buying a solar module, customers should check its efficiency rate. Products with 19% efficiency are available in the market. However, items with 15-17% efficiency are common and available at reasonable rate,” said Kapoor.
Lear MoreTurkey ranks second in fake goods market
Turkey’s Registered Brands Association (TMD) aims to take action against counterfeit products as Turkey has the second-largest fake product market in terms of legal cases. Turkey has the second-largest market of counterfeit products in the world after China, in terms of legal cases, said Tahsin Özlenir, the president of TMD. Of the almost 8,000 suits to protect brands, 4,000 were filed by TMD.He said the fake products market value had increased from $500 million to $1 billion in Turkey in the last 10 years, adding that the volume in the world is around $350 billion, 17 percent of global trade. Özlenir said Turkey should take steps on this issue, he added. TMD’s goal is for police forces to pursue fake products ex-officio in order to evaluate instant notices effectively and to introduce stricter penalties for fake products through new regulations. However, TMD pointed out that new regulations are needed in the field of “parallel imports.” Özlenir said that particularly as e-commerce developed in Turkey, everyone has become able to buy goods from abroad and sell them. “Fake and original products are mostly mixed in this trade [e-commerce],” he said.
Lear MoreCounterfeit mobile goods a ‘serious problem’ in the UK
Case manufacturer OtterBox sets up fraud unit to tackle £2.3 billion market. Smartphone case manufacturer OtterBox has launched a new UK-based department to tackle the “serious problem” of counterfeit goods circulating in this country. According to Home Office figures, the counterfeit goods market in the UK is valued at £1.3 billion a year, and around £731 million a year in Ireland. OtterBox said products that infringe intellectual property (IP) are increasingly entering the EU market as a result of the growth of online shopping. The firm’s new ‘Brand Protection Department’, based in Cork, Ireland, will monitor online sales activities by working closely with online service providers such as Amazon and eBay to help shut down and “break the chain of supply of counterfeit products”.
http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/2013/04/08/counterfeit-mobile-goods-a-serious-problem-in-the-uk/
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