Federal agents seize counterfeit goods
Agents with Immigration Customs Enforcement are on the scene, along with Huntsville Police, Decatur Police, and the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department. Bryan Cox, spokesman for ICE, said agents seized counterfeit goods from the business, Friday. Boxes of merchandise were taken from the home and put outside. Agents received information that a man was selling counterfeit items at the building at 506 2nd Street. They found a large amount of counterfeit items, including Adidas clothing, Nike shoes, Polo clothing, Gucci handbags, Louis Vuitton handbags, Michael Kors handbags, and several other brands. Officials say the merchandise totaled to be more than $400,000. Investigators were out there for hours, packing up the items and hauling them off. The business is surrounded by homes, and many neighbors said they have bought items themselves. They had no idea the items were counterfeit, although they admit the situation did seem a little suspicious… The building is unmarked, surrounded by a fence, and guarded by two dogs. Neighbors said recently, business has been booming.”When I first moved here, there were two or three people you would see go in there, but in the last month, there have been car after car after car going by there with three or four people in the car. I think this happened because his business picked up,” said neighbor, Carolyn Persinger. So far, no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
http://www.waff.com/story/21653691/federal-agents-seize-counterfeit-goods
Lear MoreTwo jailed for selling fake Premier League merchandise
Two Peterborough men have been sent to prison after being found guilty of illegal use of trademarks. Akil Thathia, (32) of Chatsfield, Werrington, and Shabir Maimoon, (30) of Carleton Crest, Walton, have been sent to prison for six months for selling counterfeit goods after pleading guilty under the Trade Marks Act 1994. Their business, Snuggle Ltd, was fined £2,000. The case was heard at Huntingdon Crown Court last month following an investigation into complaints received by Peterborough City Council’s Trading Standards. In January last year officers received a complaint regarding the sale and distribution of counterfeit Premier League merchandise (iPad covers and mobile phone socks) with the seller, a web based trader, located in Peterborough. A test purchase carried out by the Premier League’s anti-counterfeiting representative, (Back Four Brand Protection), had confirmed that an Everton iPad cover, sold via Amazon, was an unauthorised fake copy. The following month a warrant was executed by city council Trading Standards officers and computers linked to printers set up to print on phone covers were found. Examination of the computers found 2,850 graphic images of well-known registered trademarks. A separate case, linked to Shabir Maimoon, was heard on March 1 at Huntingdon Crown Court. Maimoon’s brother, Huzefa Ishaki, pleaded guilty and was given a six month sentence, suspended for 12 months, with a 200 hour community service order for similar Trade Marks Act offences with regard to his business Splash Prints. Splash Prints had around 20,000 items listed for sale on eBay with around 80 per cent of these carrying illegal trademarks. These were mainly posters and fridge magnets which Ishaki printed from home using a computer storing 2,500 trademarked graphics. Maimoon had assisted Ishaki in establishing his business through setting up an eBay account for him and lending him money to purchase stock. In the previous 13 months of trading, Splash Prints profited to the tune of more than £101,000 from the illegal use of trademarks. Councillor Peter Hiller, Cabinet Member for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Planning for Peterborough City Council, said: “These men have made huge amounts of money through the false use of trademarks; conning buyers out of their money and duping them into believing they are buying genuine items, and muddying the name of genuine trademarks and traders. “It is really encouraging to see all three men receive stern punishment for their actions and I hope this acts as a reminder to all those trading illegally- our officers will find you and you will be punished.” A spokesman for Premier League said: “The Premier League and its clubs run an anti-counterfeiting programme that involves working in partnership with Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs and other statutory authorities across the country to help tackle the issue of fake goods being illegally produced and sold to football fans. “We applaud Peterborough Trading Standards for undertaking this investigation and uncovering an illegal business that is based on ripping off football fans through the use of false trademarks. “We will continue to work with the relevant law enforcement authorities, sports rights holders and the clubs to tackle this on-going problem. If fans have any doubts about the legitimacy of a seller of club merchandise they should contact the relevant club or email info@premierleague.com.”Two Peterborough men have been sent to prison after being found guilty of illegal use of trademarks. Akil Thathia, (32) of Chatsfield, Werrington, and Shabir Maimoon, (30) of Carleton Crest, Walton, have been sent to prison for six months for selling counterfeit goods after pleading guilty under the Trade Marks Act 1994. Their business, Snuggle Ltd, was fined £2,000. The case was heard at Huntingdon Crown Court last month following an investigation into complaints received by Peterborough City Council’s Trading Standards. In January last year officers received a complaint regarding the sale and distribution of counterfeit Premier League merchandise (iPad covers and mobile phone socks) with the seller, a web based trader, located in Peterborough. A test purchase carried out by the Premier League’s anti-counterfeiting representative, (Back Four Brand Protection), had confirmed that an Everton iPad cover, sold via Amazon, was an unauthorised fake copy. The following month a warrant was executed by city council Trading Standards officers and computers linked to printers set up to print on phone covers were found. Examination of the computers found 2,850 graphic images of well-known registered trademarks. A separate case, linked to Shabir Maimoon, was heard on March 1 at Huntingdon Crown Court. Maimoon’s brother, Huzefa Ishaki, pleaded guilty and was given a six month sentence, suspended for 12 months, with a 200 hour community service order for similar Trade Marks Act offences with regard to his business Splash Prints. Splash Prints had around 20,000 items listed for sale on eBay with around 80 per cent of these carrying illegal trademarks. These were mainly posters and fridge magnets which Ishaki printed from home using a computer storing 2,500 trademarked graphics. Maimoon had assisted Ishaki in establishing his business through setting up an eBay account for him and lending him money to purchase stock. In the previous 13 months of trading, Splash Prints profited to the tune of more than £101,000 from the illegal use of trademarks. Councillor Peter Hiller, Cabinet Member for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Planning for Peterborough City Council, said: “These men have made huge amounts of money through the false use of trademarks; conning buyers out of their money and duping them into believing they are buying genuine items, and muddying the name of genuine trademarks and traders. “It is really encouraging to see all three men receive stern punishment for their actions and I hope this acts as a reminder to all those trading illegally- our officers will find you and you will be punished.” A spokesman for Premier League said: “The Premier League and its clubs run an anti-counterfeiting programme that involves working in partnership with Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs and other statutory authorities across the country to help tackle the issue of fake goods being illegally produced and sold to football fans. “We applaud Peterborough Trading Standards for undertaking this investigation and uncovering an illegal business that is based on ripping off football fans through the use of false trademarks. “We will continue to work with the relevant law enforcement authorities, sports rights holders and the clubs to tackle this on-going problem.
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Ghanaian firms marketing fake drugs from India?
At a time the Indian pharmaceutical industry is attempting to brand itself to counter allegations of exporting counterfeit drugs, Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has accused three local companies of distributing fake drugs from India. The clampdown on the three companies came just days after 62 companies, under the umbrella of India’s Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil), ended an exhibition in neighbouring Nigeria. The exhibition, Pharmexcil said in a statement, was intended to “live up to the challenges of increasing market share in existing and new markets and countering the negative publicity in some countries by vested interests”. In addition to increasing its market share, Pharmexcil is also engaged in a Brand India Pharma Campaign with the key objective to raise the awareness of Indian pharma’s success story and “to create awareness that Indian generics are not counterfeits and are bonafide”.” Additionally, the campaign is meant to shield the industry from dubious allegations by vested interests to pave way to “position India as the global pharmacy of the world”. It was in line with this that the exhibition was held in Nigeria March 7-8. Pharmexcil said the exhibition, the third to be held, provided Indian companies the opportunity to showcase “India’s latest range of pharmaceuticals products including bulk drugs, formulations, biotech products and herbals.” The event, Pharmexcil said, also provided an opportunity to pharmaceutical stake-holders in Nigeria and in the neighbouring West African region to meet their Indian counterparts to discuss procurement, joint ventures, technology transfer and marketing tie-ups. The FDA accusation has thus come to destroy the clean image that Pharmexcil is trying to build. FDA said it had uncovered the widespread fraud by the three companies that has put the lives of millions at the risk of fatality by distributing fake and substandard medicines. Samples of the Ergometrine injection from India’s Ciron Drugs were found to be substandard as they contained no active pharmaceutical ingredients, FDA said. “Fake, substandard and contaminated imported Ergometrine injections when given to women will fail to control bleeding after child delivery and could result in death,” it said. Though hospitals were not able to provide any information on the number of women and perhaps deaths this has caused, health workers told IANS that this is a real problem that has affected the country’s health delivery system. In the case of Nigeria, Pharmexcil said, it is working with the country’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other agencies to protect, promote and diversify the Nigerian pharmaceutical market. In line with this, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector in March 2011 which have helped to intensify “collaboration to prevent anti-counterfeiting of Indian pharmaceuticals”. “Indian medicines have long been present in Nigeria and India has traditionally been the largest source of medicines to this country, supplying over a third of the market. Indian pharma products’ popularity is based on their efficacy and competitive prices,” Pharmexcil added. It said there are more than 30 Indian pharma companies located in Lagos alone and engaged in manufacturing and/or importing Indian products. By the end of March last year, India exported drugs, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals to Nigeria worth $307.60 million, a significant growth of 37 percent over the previous year. Pharmexcil says India is the world’s third largest producer of pharmaceuticals by volume with an annual turnover estimated at over $20 billion in domestic prices, which are significantly lower than global prices. “With the industry growing at 13 percent annually, the turnover is expected to grow five-fold by 2020,” it added. It said India’s global pharma exports are expected to be around $14 billion in the year ending March 31 2013, up nearly 25 percent over last year, adding: “While the Indian pharmaceutical industry is famous for generics, it is also making fast inroads into branded products, especially in biotechnology.”
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Sellers facing charges for counterfeit items at flea market
19 people are facing charges from selling $1.5 million worth of counterfeit merchandise at the Plaza Flea Market in Baltimore County. On February 16, detectives began serving search warrants on approximately 16 vendors who were believed to be selling counterfeit property at the flea market, according to Baltimore County Police. Detectives began investigating after complaints were received about counterfeit property. Police seized shirts, jackets, movies, CDs, sunglasses, jewelry, clothing, purses, including over 3,500 counterfeit phone accessories and over 4,000 pairs of counterfeit shoes. Detectives estimate the worth of the merchandise around $1.5 million. County police said that while search warrants were being served, detectives shut down the flea market to ensure that the vendors involved remained at the scene and that no evidence was removed from the property. The seized merchandise was evaluated by trademark experts who found 19 individuals faced with charges that included selling counterfeit merchandise. County police say that counterfeit merchandise is problematic for many reasons including consumer safety and taxes that are used to support local and state governments are not collected.
Lear MoreRs 2,800 crore penalty on telecom companies for 19L fake SIMs
The Department of Telecom (DoT) slapped penalty of Rs2,800 crore on major telecom companies between 2007 and 2012 after at least 19 lakhSIM cards were found to have been issued by them on fake identity papers.Under pressure, these telecom majors have started shedding SIM cards obtained with fake identity papers and have already deposited Rs 400 crore with the government against the penalty raised against them for failing to adhere to ‘know your customer’ (KYC) norms.The hefty penalty was imposed after TOI highlighted in a series of stories how SIM cards were procured on fake identity documents and some of which were used by terrorists to trigger blasts. When the government and telecom companies were in denial mode, TOI procured two SIMs in the name of then home secretary and the then Intelligence Bureau director without having to deposit any proof of their identity.The two connections, one post-dated and the other pre-paid, were activated by the firms without checking the veracity of the persons in whose name the connections were issued and the documents submitted as proof. Though initially the penalty amount imposed by DoT was Rs 1,000 for each SIM card obtained on fake papers, after 2009, the government raised it to a maximum of Rs 50,000 when huge discrepancies were discovered during scrutiny of customer application forms (CAF) of these firms.The maximum penalty was imposed on those telecom operators whose accuracy rate of correct proof of identity and address (PIA) was less than 80% of the total CAF checked.The telecom companies have, however, contested the graded system of penalty and have instead asked the government to impose penalty based on the income tax slab and that too retrospectively. Doing away with the graded system of penalty may bring down the current demand to one-third of the penalties imposed. A Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal order has also gone in favour of telecom companies which are seeking lowering of penalty.
Lear MoreCall to give seized counterfeit goods to those in need
A Consumer group is urging the commerce ministry not to dump thousands of counterfeit goods it has seized in recent years but to give them to the needy instead.“With more and more people needing charitable help to get by, it may be time to change the system so that instead of disposing of items confiscated as part of consumer protection laws they can be given to people in need,” Loucas Aristodemou, the head of the consumers’ and quality of life union said yesterday. Possibly thousands of items are in storage at the commerce ministry – confiscated because they violated consumer protection laws by being counterfeits. An official at the commerce ministry’s competition and consumer protection service Froso Hadjilouca said yesterday those items “have been in storage for some years” and so a meeting had been scheduled for this week to decide how to dispose of them according to waste disposal laws, e.g. separating out recyclables. But she denied a report in daily Phileleftheros last week that said that around 22,000 ounterfeit products, among them shoes, clothes, toys, and cameras would be dumped at Kotsiatis landfill, contravening legislation on waste disposal and recycling. Asked if they could instead donate any safe items to needy families, Hadjilouca said their hands were tied. “It is not that simple. We are bound (by law) to destroy them,” she said. “It is an issue of misleading consumers, they are counterfeit goods,” Hadjilouca said.“The legislation needs to change so that people might be able to use these items,” she added.But Aristodemou suggested that changes could be made to the confiscated goods so that they could be distributed to those in need.“The ministry follows regulations and is only doing its job, but as of this moment there’s a crisis so why not alter the safe items?”He said that minor alterations could be made e.g. removing counterfeit branding or dangerous parts, such as dangling strings in clothes.Aristodemou said that the union was willing to recruit time and volunteers to make any necessary changes with the ministry’s supervision, “as long as the ministry takes the decision”. “I do not expect it would cost more than it takes to store, transport and destroy these items,” Aristodemou said.A 33-year-old mother of two told the Cyprus Mail she was “shocked” to hear that confiscated items would be destroyed. “It’s upsetting to hear about the growing numbers of people in poverty, who cannot even feed their children. If they can’t feed their children, they can’t provide them with decent clothes,” she said. “While I understand there are laws, surely they could be bent in some way during these difficult times (a reason repeatedly used by politicians to make law amendments, especially austerity-driven).”
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Beware of fake products
Tamil Nadu police have issued an 8-point advisory to the public to recognise and stay away from fake products. In the last three years, police have detected 131 cases of counterfeit products and arrested 117 people, besides seizing fake products valued around Rs 1.8 crore. A number of fake products such as toners for computer printers, spare parts for vehicles, air filters, toner powders, toner cleaning blades, diesel filters, fan regulators, fan, car spare parts, hand bags, suitcases, mobile phones, chargers, laptop batteries, spark plugs, clutch plates, cosmetics items, perfumes, oils, soaps, shower gel and after shave lotions are available in the market. The vendors who sell fake products do not issue receipts and thus avoid remitting taxes. “The use of fake products leads to adverse side effects,” police pointed out. The state video piracy cell, which is the agency dealing with cases related to fake products, advises the public to purchase goods only from authorised dealers. A genuine product will have its label and product details on the pack. “Look for the possible flaws in the labels, absence of authentic trademark, logos and holograms,” a video piracy cell official said. People are advised to check the websites of the original manufactures for product details rather than getting cheated by fraudulent sellers. Manufactures should let the public know the quality of their products by advertising in the media so that the people would be able choose the genuine product. A low price should not be a criterion for purchase of products by consumers, says a press release from the video piracy cell. Police also said that enforcers of intellectual property rights (EIPR) had been helping them to detect cases of counterfeit products.
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Fake Samsung Galaxy S III Mini available in China for $65
Samsung Galaxy S III Mini is the latest device to get its clone with Neo now selling such device in China and offering it for just $65. That’s pretty aggressive pricing considering that the specs are not far off from the original device. The Neo T001 comes with a 4-inch WVGA screen, MediaTek’s 1GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 5-megapixel rear camera, VGA front-facing one and a 1,500mAh battery. In other words, it’s pretty similar to the “real deal” though it has less RAM — 512MB instead of 1GB. However, this Chinese “version” also packs dual-SIM support, allowing you to use the phone on two networks at once. All said, you would think we suggest grabbing the Neo T001. That is NOT the case. We can’t support rip-offs and the companies making them. To be fair, Neo has some original models though this one (obviously) isn’t one of them.
http://www.intomobile.com/2013/03/09/fake-samsung-galaxy-s-iii-mini-available-china-65/
Lear MoreNSW cops seize fake mobile accessories
Police have seized tens of thousands of dollars worth of alleged counterfeit goods including fake mobile phone and tablet accessories during raids in Sydney’s northwest. Aided by officers from from Trademark Investigation Services, police have identified dozens of boxes containing fake merchandise from brands including Adidas, Apple, Chanel and Samsung. The items were seized during search warrants at various locations, including marketplace and shopping centre stalls, private residences and a warehouse. Inquiries are continuing and a number of people are expected to be charged.
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$4 million in fake drugs, consumer products seized from Columbia warehouse
Federal authorities seized nearly $4 million in fake drugs and designer products over a two-week period from a warehouse near Williams-Brice Stadium, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday. The warehouse allegedly served as a re-shipping facility for counterfeit drugs manufactured in India and designer goods produced in China, the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement office said. The warehouse’s location was not made public. No arrests have been made, said Vincent Picard, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement, adding an investigation is continuing. Between Feb. 19 and March 6, $3.6 million in counterfeit pharmaceuticals including Viagra, Cialis and Proscar, and $290,000 in counterfeit or pirated DVDs, sunglasses, handbags and other products were confiscated. S.C. Secretary of State Mark Hammond, whose office worked with federal authorities in the investigation, said counterfeit goods hurt legitimate businesses as well as consumers. “Fake medicine takes this harm to another level because it can literally kill you. … Passing off so-called ‘pharmaceuticals’ as a cheap alternative to name-brand medicine is a prescription for disaster,” Hammond said. “I am very pleased that these fakes are off of our streets.” Vincent Picard, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement , said consumers always should be cautious when purchasing drugs online, especially if the offer comes unsolicited in an email. “The buyer must beware. If the deal looks too good to be true it probably is,” Picard said. He acknowledged that there have been instances of counterfeit drugs making their way into pharmacy shelves, but “that’s the exception, not the rule.”
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