U.S., China team up to seize counterfeit goods in joint operation

WASHINGTON, July 31 (Reuters) - The United States and China have joined forces in a combined operation to crack down on counterfeit goods, seizing more than 243,000 fake electronics products, including popular consumer items made by Apple, Samsung, Dr Dre and Blackberry.

* Biggest bilateral customs effort ever - U.S. agency says

* China accounts for 72 percent of intellectual property right seizures

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the month-long operation was the biggest bilateral customs enforcement effort ever conducted by the United States. It focused on seizures of goods in ports as they were exported from China or imported into the United States.

While the operation resulted in only one arrest, U.S. officials said they see it as a sign that the Beijing government is finally acting on their complaints of Chinese theft of intellectual property.

The two countries agreed in recent high-level talks that they would work together to try to stem the large quantities of fake goods flowing between China and the United States.

"The theft of intellectual property is a global problem and cross-border efforts are needed to fight it," said Thomas Winkowski, the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.

"Robust enforcement of intellectual property rights allows innovators and creators - whether in a small start-up or an international corporation - to profit from their efforts and gives consumers confidence in the reputations of the products they buy."

China is the primary source of counterfeit and pirated goods in the United States and accounts for 72 percent of all seizures relating to intellectual property rights, according to the U.S. agency's fiscal 2012 statistics.

Theft of intellectual property rights costs U.S. businesses $320 billion a year, equivalent to the annual value of U.S. exports to Asia, according to a report by the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property, a group of former U.S. officials.

GLOBAL PROBLEM

China's Vice Minister of the General Administration of China Customs, Zou Zhiwu, said both countries need to work together to effectively curb the movement of counterfeit products.

"IPR infringement is a global issue involving not only the process of production and export, but also that of import and circulation," he said. "Enforcement agencies around the world should work more closely to crack down (on) these illegal activities."

The operation took place at ports in the United States and China. The main U.S. ports involved were Anchorage, Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Newark. In China the primary ports were Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Chinese and American customs officials did not work together physically, but acted on shared information and tips, officials said.

The single arrest was that of an American citizen who imported counterfeit Dr Dre headphones and sold them on Craigslist. He was arrested in the New Orleans area after Chinese customs passed on a tip to U.S. officials.

"The fight against criminal counterfeiters overseas presents a great deal of challenges to U.S. law enforcement," said Daniel Ragsdale, deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "But it is a fight we are committed to and through the international partnerships we forge with foreign customs and law enforcement agencies, we are making an impact."

the largest previous bilateral operation conducted by the United States was with French Customs over a six-month period. In that operation, officials made 470 seizures of electronic components like semiconductors, memory cards and computer storage devices.

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Content friend: Reuters

Number Of Counterfeit Fashion Seizures Down

COUNTERFEIT fashion seizures has gone down, according to a recent report from WWD. According to a report by US customs released last week (January 2013).  Fewer counterfeit fashion and apparel products were seized in 2012 than in 2011. Officials intercepted sales of 7,800 fake apparel goods worth up to $133 million (£87.3 million) in 2012, according to a report by . In comparison, a total of 8,094 clothing items valued at $142.3 million (£90 million) were seized in 2011.

Additionally, for the fiscal year 2012, US customs seized $511.2 million (£321.8 million) worth of fake handbags and wallets; $186.9 million (£117.7 million) worth of counterfeit watches and jewellery; and $103.3 million (£65 million) worth of  footwear.  A total of 697 websites facilitating the sale of counterfeit goods were taken down over the last 12 months.  China is named as the number-one source of imitation products.

"As online commerce continues to expand, we are seeing more international criminal organisations exploiting cyberspace to further their criminal enterprises," said Lev Kubiak, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Centre. "Websites are increasingly the front end or entry point for consumers, businesses and criminal organisations to the international supply chain."

Our own intelligence supports Lev Kubiak findings that websites are indeed increasingly the front end or entry point for consumers and urge the public that as counterfeits have become more sophisticated that luxury authentication is still one of the most successful ways to minimise the risk of being duped out of your hard earned money.


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Dolce & Gabbana close nine shops in protest at being "pilloried"

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana

DOLCE & GABBANA shut shops to protest public criticism.

MILAN, July 19 (Reuters) - Italian fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana closed their Milan stores for three days on Friday in protest at being "pilloried" over their convictions for tax evasion in June, which they say they will appeal.

The words "Closed for Indignation" were emblazoned in the windows of the designers' shop in an upmarket street in Milan, the city where the pair showed their first collection in 1985.

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were given 20-month jail terms for evading taxes on royalties of about a billion euros ($1.3 billion) by selling their brand to a Luxembourg-based holding company in 2004.

Their lawyers say they are confident of overturning the convictions. The pair are unlikely to spend time in jail due to the complexity and length of the appeals process.

"We are no longer willing to suffer undeservedly the accusations of the financial police and the income revenue authority, attacks from public ministers and the media pillory we have already been subjected to for years," they said in a statement.

The pair said they would continue to pay their more than 250 employees in Milan during the temporary closure of all their nine shops in the city.

D&G Corset

Passers-by stopped to read an article displayed in the shop window that quoted a city councillor saying the city should not let the duo show their collections in communal spaces during the city's famous fashion week in September.

"We don't need to be represented by tax evaders," councillor Franco D'Alfonso was quoted as saying.

Famed for producing sexy corset dresses and bold patterns inspired by Dolce's native Sicily, the fashion house earned just under 1.5 billion euros in global revenues in 2011.

The case is one of the few high-profile tax evasion cases to come to light in Italy, where corporate tax rates are among the highest in the world.

"Taxes are going up all the time," said Marco Daddio, a tailor from Naples whose eye was caught by the unusual appearance of Dolce & Gabbana's shop window on Friday.

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Content Friend: Reuters

UK Campaign asks the Consumer not to buy Counterfeit

IWONTBUYFAKES.org

Last month UK IWONTBUYFAKES.org launched a campaign that asks the consumer to promise not to buy counterfeits.


Press Release: IWONTBUYFAKES.org asks consumers to make a promise before their summer holiday
Date: 29 July 2013

A new campaign has been launched, asking consumers to promise that they will not buy fakes. The timing of the launch coincides with the time of year during which many of us end up in holiday destinations full of fake branded goods.

The website for the campaign ‘iwontbuyfakes.org’ contains a growing number of reasons why fake branded goods are a bad idea. It also specifically highlights the negative effects on jobs, health and the economy. Branded fashion and consumer goods, medicines, cosmetics and alcohol are all prime targets for the counterfeiters. Their agenda does not include contributing to society and looking after their customers or workers.

Already more than 2.5 million jobs have been lost in the developed world due to the impact of counterfeit and pirated goods.

Out of these 2.5 million jobs roughly 400.000 were lost in the UK. To put this in perspective, this number is not dissimilar to the UK’s level of youth unemployment.

One reason the number of jobs have been decreasing is that brands in Western Europe alone are losing out on more than 5.5 Billion Euro’s a year in revenue.

At a time where many British and European brands are finding times tough the sophisticated counterfeit industry puts additional pressure on those employers who mainly exist because they try to innovate and create the real thing.

In addition to this counterfeiting has a sharp negative effect on government vat and duty income. The problem has been getting progressively worse with sharp increases in counterfeit activities over the last few years. UK customs reported a 49 per cent increase in the number of cases it dealt with in a single year through EU publications.

IWONTBUYFAKES.org is run by volunteers and was set up for two reasons. To educate us  on the adverse effects buying fake goods have on their job opportunities, health and future and to turn that understanding into a positive action by promising to walk away from fakes.

By clicking the promise button on the IWONTBUYFAKES.org site the consumer takes a step towards more careful consideration next time they are confronted with fake goods, either on holiday or elsewhere.

IWONTBUYFAKES.org 'I Promise"

Brands are also asked to show their support for the campaign by sharing the details with their social media following and displaying their logo on the IWONTBUYFAKES.org site for free.


Visit: IWONTBUYFAKES.org 

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Rihanna wins legal battle with Philip Green's TopShop

Rihanna Chanel A/W 2013-14 Haute Couture Show

RIHANNA won a High Court legal fight with Topshop yesterday after a judge ruled her fans may have been duped into thinking she endorsed T-Shirts emblazoned with her face on them. Following on from Delortae Agency MiMi's earlier blog on the full story earlier Rihanna Sues Philip Green's Topshop for £3.5m over 'Ugly' T-shirt . The superstar singer, 25 sued the fashion chain's parent company Arcadia for £3.3 million over the garments, which featured a photo from a video shoot in Northern Ireland in 2011.

The Judge, Mr Justice Birss, said: Many fans of Rihanna regard her endorsement as important. She is their style icon. Many will buy a product because they think she has approved of it.'

Unflattering' Topshop t-shirt of Rihanna

Rihanna winning  the lawsuit, makes a landmark case as, at present, there is no "right of publicity" law in the UK. In the US, however, this law prevents the use of a person's image or name for advertising or trade without their written consent. So UK law is clearly embarking on a change following this win and what will this mean to our laws.

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