Signs of the Times

Underwriters Laboratories, the guardian of global product compliance, has issued a press release warning customers that signs made by a company called "Clover Signs" bears the UL mark without having been approved.

PRO-IP Act

President Bush signed the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act (a.k.a., the PRO-IP Act) earlier this week.

You can read about it here and here. The full text of the PRO-IP Act can be found here.

The PRO-IP Act establishes increased penalties for counterfeiting violations and strengthens America's ability to combat counterfeiting, including by the following means:

• Treble damages in civil actions and a doubling of criminal fines.
• Strengthened penalties against sellers of counterfeit goods that do physical harm.
• Increased seizure ability by law enforcement in copyright cases (normally, pirated media rather than counterfeited manufactured goods).
• Increased diplomatic resources and attention to the problem of counterfeiting and piracy by dedicating ten "Intellectual Property Attaches" to staff American embassies to promote the protection of intellectual property as a formal component of international relations.
• $25 million to help local law enforcement develop anti-counterfeiting law enforcement techniques.

There has been a large amount of online commentary (also here and elsewhere) about the PRO-IP Act and its impact, but the chatter is mostly concerned with the effects of the law on online piracy of music and entertainment.

In addition, there has been some debate on whether the full intent of the law will be carried out. For example, Counterfeit Chic's Susan Scafidi writes that the new Intellectual Property Czar will likely be appointed by the next President. Unless there is a late surge by Senator McCain, Senator Obama is likely to be elected the next President. Scafidi believes that he could then appoint Larry Lessig as the first IP Czar to enforce provisions of the PRO-IP Act. While Lessig advocates a radical loosening of enforcement of copyright, his primary focus is on the intangible world of the internet rather than physical counterfeiting. Lessig has shown relatively little interest in undermining the real world regime, and as such, I must respectfully dissent from Professor Scafidi's analysis (at least in terms of "real world" counterfeit goods).

Wired's Threat Level Blog is polling its readers on who should be the next Intellectual Property Czar here.

And while $25 million dollars sounds impressive, the actual application of the monies (spread over the entirety of the United States) may well be insufficient for the task at hand.

While attention and controversy swirl around the copyright/media portion of the PRO-IP Act, there is little doubt and debate that for the real world manufactured counterfeits, the increased enforcement is very welcome and a very positive step in the right direction.

eBay's European PR Offensive

PR Week reports on eBay's public relations counteroffensive in the wake of this week's legal setback in France. The article notes eBay's involvement with the Knock Off Nigel initiative, as well as its teaming with various organizations to fight online fraud (including The Authentics Foundation, which sponsors this blog and the myauthentics.com website).

Canadian Authorities Seize Counterfeit Hair Irons

Much is done in the name of beauty. But using counterfeit hair irons to look chic on the cheap? Authorities in the Quebec City region of Canada say some consumers unwittingly did just that; the police announced a seizure of 4,500 fake hair straightening irons last Tuesday. The raid was held on January 15 after a months-long investigation beginning in March 2007.

Click here to read the full story on our Style Blog, and find out why the effects of fakes on the fritz are not so beautiful.

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The Twelve (Horribly Fake) Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas,
the counterfeiters and pirates gave to me
One bootleg DVD

On the second day of Christmas,
the counterfeiters and pirates gave to me
Two exploding batteries ,
And one bootleg DVD

On the third day of Christmas,
the counterfeiters and pirates gave to me
Three fake Tickle-Me-Elmos,
Two exploding batteries,
And one bootleg DVD

On the fourth day of Christmas,
the counterfeiters and pirates gave to me
Four defective Durex condoms,
Three fake Tickle-Me-Elmos,
Two exploding batteries,
And one bootleg DVD

On the fifth day of Christmas,
the counterfeiters and pirates gave to me
Five sawdust brake pads,
Four defective Durex condoms,
Three fake Tickle-Me-Elmos,
Two exploding batteries,
And one bootleg DVD

On the sixth day of Christmas,
the counterfeiters and pirates gave to me
Six tainted tubes of toothpaste,
Five sawdust brake pads,
Four defective Durex condoms,
Three fake Tickle-Me-Elmos,
Two exploding batteries,
And one bootleg DVD

On the seventh day of Christmas,
the counterfeiters and pirates gave to me
Seven sick senior citizens,
Six tainted tubes of toothpaste,
Five sawdust brake pads,
Four defective Durex condoms,
Three fake Tickle-Me-Elmos,
Two exploding batteries,
And one bootleg DVD

On the eighth day of Christmas,
the counterfeiters and pirates gave to me
Eight children a-choking,
Seven sick senior citizens,
Six tainted tubes of toothpaste,
Five sawdust brake pads,
Four defective Durex condoms,
Three fake Tickle-Me-Elmos,
Two exploding batteries,
And one bootleg DVD

On the ninth day of Christmas,
the counterfeiters and pirates gave to me
Nine computers-a-crashing,
Eight children a-choking,
Seven sick senior citizens,
Six tainted tubes of toothpaste,
Five sawdust brake pads,
Four defective Durex condoms,
Three fake Tickle-Me-Elmos,
Two exploding batteries,
And one bootleg DVD

On the tenth day of Christmas,
the counterfeiters and pirates gave to me
Ten extension cords a-blazing,
Nine computers-a-crashing,
Eight children a-choking,
Seven sick senior citizens,
Six tainted tubes of toothpaste,
Five sawdust brake pads,
Four defective Durex condoms,
Three fake Tickle-Me-Elmos,
Two exploding batteries,
And one bootleg DVD

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
the counterfeiters and pirates gave to me
Eleven erroneous diabetic testing strips,
Ten extension cords a-blazing,
Nine computers-a-crashing,
Eight children a-choking,
Seven sick senior citizens,
Six tainted tubes of toothpaste,
Five sawdust brake pads,
Four defective Durex condoms,
Three fake Tickle-Me-Elmos,
Two exploding batteries,
And one bootleg DVD

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
the counterfeiters and pirates gave to me
Twelve fire extinguishers malfunctioning,
Eleven erroneous diabetic testing strips,
Ten extension cords a-blazing,
Nine computers-a-crashing,
Eight children a-choking,
Seven sick senior citizens,
Six tainted tubes of toothpaste,
Five sawdust brake pads,
Four defective Durex condoms,
Three fake Tickle-Me-Elmos,
Two exploding batteries,
And one bootleg DVD

Brought to you by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Well, ladies and gentleman. It's been a mad, mad year of fakes. Here's hoping you bought authentic this holiday season. You wouldn't want that Christmas tree or Hanukkah bush a-kindling because of cheap lights.

Happy holidays!

Photo credit

Fake Contraception Poses Risks, say Authorities

Hundreds of allegedly fake condoms have been found and seized by officials in the United Kingdom this week. The fakes, which fall under the jurisdiction of Lambeth council in South London, are three-packs falsely branded as Durex. They pose a huge risk to consumers, as they are more likely to tear and can otherwise be unreliable.

"These counterfeits cannot be relied upon to protect people against sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy," says Lib Peck, cabinet member for environment and culture.

Trading officials have not released a list of where such fakes might be sold, simply saying that shops in Brixton and Herne Hill have been raided. Consumers are urged to check the serial number on the product, and remain aware of the issue.

New Educational Website Fights Pirates

Microsoft has added a new element to their ongoing effort to fight fakes--an educational website to help consumers. In addition to suing 20 alleged pirates in 13 states as part of their continuing "Genuine Software Initiative", the industry giant has created www.howtotell.com, which helps their customers spot counterfeits.

How to Tell provides a rich amount of content aimed at enabling customers with the right information about identifying pirated software. Among its pages are tips on what to avoid and answers to common questions. The most interesting element of the website, though, is its gallery of recently seized fakes, which can provide a laugh about the design of phony software and helpful examples for you to match your own products against. Most importantly, How to Tell allows customers to report fakes.

In 2006 alone, the U.S. lost $7.3 billion to software pirates, among $40 billion lost overall in 102 countries, according to researcher IDC. This same study, sponsored by the Business Software Alliance, indicates 21% of all PC software is pirated.

With their "Genuine Software Initiative," Microsoft has been a leader against piracy since its infancy--though generally their pursuit of the issue has involved tracking down counterfeiters. How to Tell allows them to reach out to software consumers and raise awareness about the issue.

Job Losses to Counterfeits

Fakes don't just cost companies revenue--they cause job losses and take money from your local economies:

According to the Straits Times, "International lawyers want more action against fake goods worldwide, as fakes improve in quality and with no dwindling of counterfeiters in sight.

At yesterday's International Bar Association (IBA) conference session at Suntec City on measures to combat counterfeiting and piracy, delegates spoke strongly about the issue - one seen as not only an economic threat but also involving serious safety, health and environmental concerns.

A global IBA survey on counterfeiting involving 39 countries is under way. It will be presented at next year's conference in Argentina.

The fake goods, ranging from boutique bags to designer clothes and other high-tech goods, take up between 5 and 7 per cent of the global trade, said Mr Clive Elliot, who is spearheading the survey.

The lack of enforcement action 'remains the rule rather than the exception' and the purpose of the survey is to identify key challenges and draw up a set of guidelines to use globally, he added.

Part of the allure for counterfeiters was in the cash windfalls to be made.

Canadian counsel Ira Nishisato pointed out that profit margins in the industry was 1,100 per cent compared to 300 per cent for heroin, citing a Motion Picture Association report.

Delegates also heard some 250 million such products were seized in the European Union countries alone last year, up from 75 million in 2005.

Fakes caused losses of between 120 billion euros ($250 billion) and 270 billion euros a year worldwide and some 200,000 European jobs."

Read the rest of the story here

Pharmaceutical Updates

• Report: Counterfeit HIV/Aids Meds Flood Zimbabwe (Rod 2.0)
• New Tech Can Identify Counterfeit Drugs in Minutes (News Medical)
• Massive Counterfeit Drug Ring Cracked (in-Pharma)
• Most Hoodia Diet Pills are Fake, Study Says (PMC)
• Lawmakers Debate Import Safety, How to Stop Counterfeits (FDA News)
• As Counterfeit Medicines Reach Local Chemists, Are You At Risk? (Daily Mail)
• Vioxx Users Seek Company Help, Drug Companies Battle Counterfeits (NJ.com)
• Counterfeit Drugs Kill (The American)
  

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