Stealth Mark’s Anti-Counterfeiting Technology Ready for Use in Art Galleries & Museums
Wellness Center USA, Inc. (OTCQB:WCUI), today announced that wholly-owned subsidiary StealthCo, Inc. (dba: Stealth Mark) is ready to deploy its premier security technology in art galleries & museums. With brisk forgery activities, 350,000 + pieces of stolen artwork to date, and more than $10 billion in losses, the need for a bulletproof solution has never been greater. StealthMark™ microparticle technology use within art galleries & museums is set to begin in November 2014.
StealthMark™ intelligent microparticle technology is precisely suited to the Art industry because it provides unbreachable security, accurate reference data, unique combinations of covert and overt markings, and track and trace capabilities that can be used on highly valuable pieces of art and objects such as paintings, ancient artifacts, sculptures, historical documents, and more.
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‘Nigeria loses N75b annually to smuggling of textile products’
The National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) has said that Nigeria loses estimated N75 billion revenue annually to smuggling of textile and garment materials.
NUTGTWN stated this in a communiqué it issued after a three-day workshop for trade union organisers, self-employed tailors and small-scale garment makers it organised in Ilorin in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES)
Lear MoreChina Counterfeiting: What’s Your Action Plan
Intellectual Property Magazine recently published an article by our lead intellectual property lawyer, Greg Buhyoff. The article is entitled, Action Plan for Asia, and it is described as follows: “Harris Moure’s Gregory F Buhyoff provides pointers on how to implement anti-counterfeiting and misappropriation investigations in China and Vietnam.” Greg practiced law in Vietnam for around ten years. The article is behind a firewall, but we were given permission to publish it and we do so below.
http://www.chinalawblog.com/2014/10/china-counterfeiting-whats-your-action-plan.html
Lear MoreSmuggled Cabbage for Kimchi Season
In many regions of North Korea, a lack of fertilizer and the spring drought have resulted in a poor vegetable crop, making kimjang, the preparation of kimchi [a traditional fermented Korean side dish] for the winter, extremely difficult for residents. “The drought this year was so bad and the cabbage is infested with worms; we’ve got a lot of radishes, but not much else,” a source in Yangkang Province reported to the Daily NK on October 30th. “As kimjang season approaches, people are seriously worried about what they’re going to do.” “Some residents, in collusion with military officers and border guards, are bringing in cabbage and other vegetables from China at night to deal with the issue,” he explained.
http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=12500&cataId=nk01500
Lear MoreIndia proving to be one of the top smuggling paradises on the world map.
In recent years the all-India contraband seizures have jumped dramatically hitting new heights every year. Although these seizures only provide a glimpse into this sordid world through customs or revenue intelligence, there is evidence that the flow of contraband goods into the country via strategically located coastal and border areas is increasing. Bringing in the latest in electronic gizmos, India is proving to be one of the top smuggling paradises on the world map.
At first sight, Kathari, a nondescript fishing village on the Daman coast looks no different from the other coastal villages strung out along India’s extensive coastline: a number of weather-beaten fishing boats sprawled drunkenly on the beach, tattered fishing nets pegged out to dry and a beehive cluster of thatched huts.
However, the customs launch patrolling the coastline a few weeks ago did notice one unusual difference – a homing signal being transmitted from somewhere in the village. Smelling something fishy, the customs party entered the village and traced the signal to a central building comparatively larger than the rest, obviously used as storage space for the day’s catch. Kathari’s fishermen, it transpired, had been using some pretty potent bait. Instead of the expected collection of pungent marine life, the shed was stacked with an assortment of gleaming new electronic goodies, including tape-recorders, calculators and watches. The estimated value of the haul: Rs 5.30 lakh.
Casting their net further, the customs officials discovered that the village’s outward appearance of poverty was rather deceptive. Virtually every family was in proud possession of at least one expensive imported item, ranging from a two-in-one, a Seiko watch to a Japanese umbrella. Kathari, however, is hardly unique and neither is its inconspicuous affluence. It is merely one of the hundreds of strategically-located coastal villages that have, in recent years, been generously “adopted” by smuggling syndicates as convenient conduits for the ever-escalating flow of contraband into the country.
Currently, it is possible to pick up the latest electronic gizmo, whether it is Sony’s new Walkman variant or JVC’s ultra-sophisticated video cassette recorder (VCR), within days of its rolling off the assembly line in Tokyo or Osaka, at any one of the innumerable urban outlets that have mushroomed over the past few years and put India firmly in the running for top seeding as a smugglers’ paradise.
Lear MoreFTDI stops disabling devices with fake chips
Scottish electronics firm FTDI has backed down from a controversial scheme to use a Windows software update to ‘brick’ devices with counterfeit chips.
The Glasgow-based company – which manufactures a USB-to-serial bridge chipset (FT232) used in many electronic devices – included a new driver in a Windows software update that deactivated the chip by setting its ID code to zero if it was found to be fake.
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1.395 Arrested in Venezuelan Anti-Smuggling Operation
As part of an on-going operation against the hoarding and smuggling of basic goods, Venezuelan authorities have reported that a total of 1,395 people have been arrested for contraband activities.
Of these, 995 remain detained, 332 have been granted bail, 19 will face trial this week and 47 have been freed, said Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz on Wednesday.
The anti-smuggling operation was launched by President Nicolas Maduro this summer to prevent food, medical supplies, gasoline and construction materials being illegally transported to neighbouring Colombia, where such goods make a higher profit by avoiding Venezuelan price controls.
http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/10993
Lear MoreNigeria Loses About N15bn Annually To Counterfeit Products – SON
An estimated N15 billion is lost annually to fake or counterfeit products in terms of tax revenue to the government, income to local manufacturers and employment generation to Nigerians.
The director, Legal Services, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Suleiman Kawo, dropped this hint when the agency hosted the staff and management of the Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, who came on a study tour of the agency in Abuja.
Lear MoreChanel files lawsuit against company allegedly infringing on its products
Chanel alleges it has lost thousands of dollars and its consumers’ trust after knock-off brands tried to sell identical products under its name. Chanel S.A. filed a lawsuit Sept. 11 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas against The Individual Partnership.
In its complaint, the French fashion design company alleges the defendants violated its trademark rights when they reproduced counterfeit Chanel trademarks in an attempt to sell products to the public.
https://setexasrecord.com/news/299407-chanel-files-lawsuit-company-allegedly-infringing-products
Lear MoreZimbabwe: Battery Firms Target 90 Percent Capacity
Battery manufacturers are targeting a manufacturing capacity of up to 90 percent by mid next year but lament the effect smuggled products are having on the sector’s performance.
A number of companies have raised the red flag over the continued smuggling of products which include clothes, cooking oil, batteries and tyres into the country.
Local manufacturers bear the brunt of high input costs and face huge costs of capital at a time when the market is flooded by the cheap illegal imports.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201410291176.html
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