Fake phones getting less popular in China
Cheap mobile phones that closely resemble high-end globally-recognised devices are slowly fading out from markets across China, and are being replaced by brands looking to break into the budget phone market.In south China’s Shenzhen city, known as the “birthplace of counterfeit phones”, shops with “for rent” signs can be seen everywhere, the China Daily reported Monday.Although the city has long been known as one of the country’s top sellers of electronic products, government data indicates that more than 3,500 shops, most of which were mobile phone dealers, have closed and retreated from the market.This year’s Canton Fair, the country’s largest small commodities expo held in Guangzhou, featured a small number of counterfeit phones, an “unthinkable occurrence in previous years”.Industry experts said manufacturers of counterfeit phone do not have the technological know-how to compete with global brands like Apple and amsung.However, domestic brands have made breakthroughs that have allowed them to offer inexpensive smartphones, thus cutting into the counterfeit phone market.Among the 10 biggest phone manufacturers in China last year, domestic brands ZTE, Huawei and TCL were ranked third, fifth and ninth respectively, in terms of smartphone ales.Domestic smartphones cost less than 1,000 yuan ($160).Tang Ruijin, director of the Shenzhen Federation of Mobile Communication, said counterfeit manufacturers have retreated to underdeveloped overseas markets like southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa.At this year’s Mobile World Congress, Huawei unveiled a quad-core mobile phone processor. Huawei is one of few companies that develops its own computer chips, while many foreign brands still use Intel chips.
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/fake-phones-getting-less-popular-in-china-306373
Lear MoreRCMP seizes $17,000 in counterfeit merchandise, deliver warnings
RCMP are reminding holiday shoppers to avoid fake merchandise after seizing more than $17,000 worth of counterfeit products from three Regina businesses. Within the last two weeks, Regina Border Integrity Sectionconfiscated 561 counterfeit cellphone accessories and 273 electrical products from different businesses. All electricalproducts and batteries in Canada must meet specific standards are regulated by a third party certification.RCMP Regina Border Integrity Section Constable Fabian Folksays the four businesses they searched, three in which they confiscated counterfeit goods, are first-time offenders and were delivered counterfeit notification letters and electrical inspection notification letters as warnings.“The individuals that we dealt with, they were unknowingly selling the counterfeit goods and electrical goods. They worked with us right from the first time we met with them… the individuals that are clearly selling it in contravention of either act, those are the instances where we will definitely be pursuing charges,” saidFolk. If the businesses are caught selling counterfeit items again, RCMP say they will be charged and can be fined up to $1 million under the copyright act and $10,000 a day under the electrical inspection act. Last year, the RCMP seized more than $67.5 million worth of counterfeit merchandise from 876 investigations. Spot the counterfeit – the four “P”In the midst of the holiday shopping season, RCMP has given guidelines about how to avoid buying counterfeit items: Price. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Packaging.Poor quality graphics, spelling mistakes and various brands being sold in the same packaging are tip offs to counterfeit merchandise. Products.If its normally sold in a package and being sold individually, missing labels or thename brand or certification is misspelled, the product is most likely poorly made. Place. Manufacturers are usually particular about where their products are sold and how they are displayed. If it doesn’t fit in with the surrounding, it might be counterfeit. What’s the harm since counterfeit products are not subject to testing or safety standard, the RCMP say they can be a safety and health risk. For example, unregulated electrical products can explode or cause fires and cosmetics and perfumes may contain unknown chemicals which can cause skin reactions/allergies. RCMP says they have seized items such as toothpaste, pharmaceuticals, cell phone batteries and accessories, as well ashockey helmets, car parts andrazor blades.
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Blaina man fined £1000 over fake retro footy shirts
A Businessman was fined £1,000 for selling counterfeit sports gear on a popular website. Andrew Jones, 41, who trades online at retrofootyshirt.com was convicted following a trading standards investigation after a complaint from sport manufacturer Umbro. Abergavenny Magistrates Court heard on Monday how Umbro representatives purchased a counterfeit New York Cosmos shirt from Jones, of The Glade, Wyllie, Blackwood. They later met and Jones agreed to supply 150 of the shirts for £11 each and claimed he had a manufacturing unit around 40 miles away.Further test purchases were made by trading standards and a search at Jones’ business unit at Rising Sun Industrial Estate, Blaina, and home resulted in both counterfeit and genuine shirts being seized.Further investigations into the content of Jones website revealed a list of misleading and incorrect claims including that he had an on-site production unit, was an official stockist of Lacoste and Adidas products, worked closely with leading kit suppliers and clubs and had 20 years experience in the sporting industries.Jones pleaded guilty to seven offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and one charge under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.Llyr Williams, defending, said Jones was of previous clean character and may have overstepped the mark in the way he described his business in a bid to make it look bigger than it was.He said Jones had now followed guidance given to him by trading standards and amended his website and trading practices.As well as the fine, he was ordered to pay £1,500 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £15.A Blaenau Gwent council spokeswoman said the sale of counterfeit goods, which are usually of substandard quality, was damaging to local traders who are finding it difficult enough in the current economic climate.
Lear MoreCompany in soup for making fake chocolate
Lasudia policeregistered acase against a chocolate companyfor manufacturingduplicate branded chocolateshere on Wednesday. Local Kemko Company has been booked under the Copyright Act for manufacturing duplicate chocolate. TI of Lasudia police station, Azim Khan said early on Wednesday morning, that they received a complaint from Anil Tiwari, who was representing a multinational chocolate company against a local company for manufacturing duplicate product.Following the complaint, a team of police personnel, along with official of food and drug department, were sent to Dewas Naka. The team raided the local company. “During raid we have seized huge amount of duplicate products of Centre Fresh and other popular brands and huge amount of raw material from the company,” Khan said adding that when team reached the spot, several people were working in the company. Later it was found that company was functioning for the last two years. They had been changing the spellings of the brand names on the wrapper to confuse the customers. The rest of the details on the wrapper were kept intact as the original brand.All the material in the company has been seized and company was seal. Sample of the seized items have been sent to lab for testing. Police said after receiving report from the lab, cases will be registered against company owner.
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Record seizure of counterfeit watches valued at almost $100 million
The load of phony watches that sharp-eyed U.S. border agents discovered in a truck at a border crossing near Laredo, TX was worth $83 million, making it the largest such seizure in the crossing’s history, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In October, the Import Specialist Enforcement Team (ISET) at U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Laredo port of entry seized the commercial shipment of 7,800 counterfeit Audemars Piguet trademarked watches. The seizure was recently finalized, according to the agency in a Dec. 12 statement. The significant seizure was the second involving the same trademark in less than six months, it said that the knock-off timepieces were detected after a CBP import specialist at World Trade Bridge selected a shipment of watches arriving via express consignment truck for a secondary examination. In the course of that secondary examination, CBP officers and import specialists discovered possible infringement of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Octagonal Bezel Design trademark, which is a trademark recorded with CBP. After a legal review from CBP Headquarters Intellectual Property Rights Branch and confirmation from Audemars Piguet that the use of their trademark was unauthorized, CBP determined on Oct. 25 that the watches infringed on the Audemars Piguet design trademark and seized them. The total manufacturer’s suggested retail price, had the Audemars Piguet design trademark been genuine, was $83 million, said CBP. “This seizure of $83 million in counterfeit watches is now the largest in port history and is the second multimillion dollar seizure involving the same Audemars Piguet design trademark in less than six months,” said Sidney Aki, CBP port director, Laredo Port of Entry. “As we approach the Christmas holidays, seizures like these help reassure both the trade community and the public that CBP remains committed to ensuring that recorded trademarks are protected and the American consumer is protected from counterfeit merchandise.”
http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/28032?c=border_security
Lear MoreIndia seized fake seeds worth $750,000 in 2012
India says it has seized fake seeds worth more than $750,000 this year, making 25 arrests in the process.The figures come weeks after agricultural experts called for the Pakistani government to clamp down on fake seeds and suggest the problem stretches across the region. In India, seizures of fake seeds were concentrated in Andhra Pradesh, the Minister of State for Agriculture said.Responding to questions in parliament, the Minister said 56,700kg of fake or substandard seeds were seized in 2012, leading to 18 dealers having their licenses revoked. The Indian government is now trying to tackle the problem by investing in the seed industry.”Assistance is provided for strengthening and modernising seed infrastructure facilities in public as well as private sector,” Minister Tariq Anwar said. Money is also being spent to create a seed bank that can stop farmers resorting to planting substandard seeds in emergencies.
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23-yr-old auto-lifter held for smuggling banned medicines
His record and police dossier identify him as a notorious auto-lifter, but very few, including those in police, knew he was a smuggler of banned drugs and medicines. The Vasant Vihar police have arrested a 23-year-old auto-lifter and his accomplice with 55,000 capsules of banned medicine “Relipen” which is used as a painkiller and hallucinogenic. The seized drugs were meant to be smuggled to Manipur by courier after concealing them in cloth parcels. The arrested drug peddlers have been identified as Imtiyaz Khan Sheikh, a native of Thoubal in Manipur and his aide, Hitler, 26, from Imphal, Manipur. Police said Sheikh was involved in several cases of auto-lifting registered at different police stations in south Delhi. PS Kushwah, additional deputy commissioner of police (south), said the two drug peddlers were arrested following a tip-off about Sheikh’s movement in Munrika village near Vasant Vihar. “A team led by Anil Sharma, SHO of the Vasant Vihar police station, laid a trap near Munirka bus stop after they learnt that a person involved in smuggling of banned medicines from Delhi to Manipur will arrive there. At the instance of the informer, the team apprehended a person who was holding two cartons in his hands. When opened, 100 boxes (each box containing 100 tablets), containing 10,000 tablets of ‘Relipen’ (a Schedule ‘H’ Drug), were found in the cartons,” said Kushwah. During interrogation, a senior police officer said, the arrested person identified himself as Sheikh. When his antecedents were verified, it was found that he is a notorious auto-lifter. “Since the recovery of items was related to drugs and medicines, the drugs control department of Delhi government was alerted. Sheikh was interrogated at length and at his instance, his accomplice Hitler was arrested and 45,000 tablets of ‘Relipen’ were recovered from a house in Munirka village,” said the officer. “The duo revealed that they used to purchase Relipen tablets from different chemist shops in Delhi and NCR for smuggling them to Manipur. Relipen is a sought after drug by addicts,” the officer added.
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Police seize counterfeit purses, wallets, sunglasses from Mishawaka shop
Detectives seized hundreds of counterfeit purses, wallets, and sunglasses, during a raid on a gift shop. St. Joseph County Police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security filled an entire U-Haul truck with merchandise they confiscated from the Downtown Gift Shop, along McKinley Ave. just east of Hickory Rd., using a warrant. “We’re talking Coach, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, those sorts of things,” said St. Joseph County Police Capt. Randy Kaps. No one was arrested, Tuesday, in what police called an ongoing investigation. Authorities in Chicago previously received a tip that the shop was selling knock-off items and that’s what prompted the investigation into possible trademark violation, Kaps said. According to Kaps, police are trying to determine who owns the store, and whether he or she was aware that the products, which appear to be from overseas, were counterfeit. Adora Deleu, who has shopped at the store, and who arrived to find the business closed, Tuesday afternoon, said it was obvious the products were not the real thing.
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Ministry punishes firms over use of counterfeit software
About 40 private establishments and retail outlets have been sanctioned for using or selling counterfeit software, said an official source at the Ministry of Culture and Information. Fines reached SR 100,000 in some cases and some companies were closed temporarily until they rectify their situation. “The total number of cases adds up to about 150 so far,” sources told a local newspaper. The lawyers of software companies filed the cases, saying the companies breached the copyright regulation that was implemented to protect intellectual property and computer programs. Working on curbing the trafficking of counterfeit software, the ministry designated specialized officials to carry out field inspections at business establishments, warehouses and games retail outlets. These inspectors have the jurisdiction to seize evidence. According to a Business Software Alliance (BSA) study, the rate of software pirating in the Middle East and Africa reached 50 percent in 2011. The commercial value of unlicensed programs amounted to about $ 4.2 million (SR 15.75 million). The rate of pirating software in emerging markets reached about 68 percent. Emerging markets have the largest portion of the global increase in the commercial value of counterfeit program, the report showed. Another source said there is a consensus among private and government parties on pursuing those who illegally copy software, films and other copyright protected materials, as this causes large losses for the economy. Specialists at the software industry say punishments against those involved in copying and selling counterfeit programs must be severe and include imprisonment and naming and shaming. Trading in copied copyrighted intellectual property is a crime for which perpetrators are pursued in almost all countries to curb the phenomenon’s spread in global markets. A representative of BSA and lawyer of the plaintiff companies Muhammad Al-Dhabaan said the copying of original software products is increasing through a number of websites. The relevant authorities and BSA officials who monitor the local market detected these sites. Al-Dhabaan said about 100 violations had been detected. When the BSA team finds a company using counterfeit software, they are requested to use original software. If a company would not comply, they would be reported to authorities.
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/ministry-punishes-firms-over-use-counterfeit-software
Lear MoreDangerous fake drink on sale in the county
DRINKERS are being warned that “extremely dangerous” bogus booze could be on sale across the county. It comes as an off-licence owner was fined a record amount in Oxfordshire for selling counterfeit alcohol. Oxfordshire County Council’sTrading StandardsTeam has seized 227 bottles of fake wine and eight bottles of vodka since June last year. And last night it warned they could be contaminated with chemicals. About £2,000 worth of counterfeit alcohol was seized from Ansh Food and Wine in Chinnor in April. The haul included 147 bottles of fake Blossom Hill wine, 28 bottles of counterfeit Jacob’s Creek wine, and one bottle of fake vodka.Store owner Paramjit Singh Khiali was fined £9,250 and £1,941 costs at Oxford Magistrates’ Court last week after he admitted eight charges under the food safety and trade mark laws. He admitted buying alcohol on three occasions without doing proper checks. The 47-year-old was caught after a customer alerted Trading Standards after buying some fake wine. Mr Khiali told the Oxford Mail that he did not know the alcohol was counterfeit and he was sorry for his mistake. Shop assistant Kultar Singh said the fine would hurt the business. He said: “It was a mistake. We did not realise. I know if I sell bad stuff we will lose customers.” Trading Standards can now call for the shop’s licence to be reviewed. Its head Richard Webb said fake booze was becoming more widespread. “It’s a problem across the whole country, but we are starting to see more cases of counterfeit alcohol being distributed across Oxfordshire.” Of Mr Khaili’s fine, he added: “We are pleased with the result, and it shows that the court takes matters of counterfeit alcohol very seriously. “The high fine reflects the importance of being able to trace the supply chain for products so that any unsafe goods can be quickly removed from the market.“Businesses should only buy their stock from legitimate source; otherwise there are potential serious consequences for any retailer.”Trading Standards is now analysing the seized bottles to determine if they contained any dangerous chemicals.Judith Heathcoat, council cabinet member for safer and stronger communities, said: “Counterfeit alcohol can be extremely dangerous as it is usually mixed with chemicals that aren’t fit for consumption.”Three bottles of illegal vodka were seized from the 7 to 9 store in Oxford Road, Cowley, in October last year and the shop was given a warning.Trading Standards said it was not known where the alcohol was coming from, but said some cold callers turn up at off-licences claiming their businesses have closed and they are selling stock.Abingdon GP Dr Prit Buttar said counterfeit booze could be contaminated with a range of dangerous chemicals.He said: “Methanol can blind permanently. Some of the other contaminants can cause irreparable damage and if it was somebody with a history of heavy alcohol consumption then that would make the toxic effect greater.”
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10096579.Dangerous_fake_drink_on_sale_in_the_county/?ref=rss
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