Monthly Archives: August 2017

Fake Shoes worth $87.3 million seized in China

What may be the largest seizure of fake shoes took place recently in China. A tip from Nike Sports China led the police in Bengbu to an investigation and eventual seizure of $87 million in shoes, mostly sneakers. Bengbu is located in the northern province of Anhui Province. The shoes were going to be exported to the Middle East and Africa and had a total value in excess of 600 million yuan or $87.3 million dollars. Using the Nike tip, the police identified Jinfeng Factory and its director who had served a suspended sentence of two years for manufacturing counterfeit shoes in 2008. Ten other suspects were arrested.

This seizure of shoes topped another notable seizure of shoes that involved $32 million of Adidas and Nike sneakers and took place in Chile on November 2015. The total shipment was 16,454 divided up into 474 boxes. Customs officials discovered the sneakers when they saw a discrepancy in the declared value of the shipment. The documentation declared the total value at $24,209, but the actual value was over $31,000.

Counterfeit Engagement Rings

Costco was recently found guilty of trademark counterfeiting and has been ordered to pay a total of $19.3 to Tiffany for selling engagement rings that were not made by Tiffany and were marketed as “Tiffany” engagement rings.

Costco, which intends to appeal the decision, had argued that it was using “Tiffany” as a generic term to describe a ring’s setting and had also argued that the items were not stamped or marked with the Tiffany name, nor were they sold in Tiffany’s distinct blue boxes or bags.

Fake Solar Eclipse Glasses

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is warning consumers of counterfeit eclipse glasses that are being sold for the August 21^st eclipse. People who watch the eclipse without safety glasses can suffer permanent damage to their eyes from ultra violet (UV) rays.

Fake eclipse glasses have become a problem for online retailer Amazon.com, which has begun issuing refunds to customers who bought counterfeits from certain third parties. A Seattle doctor has issued a recall of the eclipse glasses it purchased from certain vendors that turned out were unsafe.

Genuine safety glasses should have the ISO logo and the ISO 12312-2. Also, when you look through the glasses regular light shouldn’t be visible.

Vishal J. Aman: New ‘IP Czar’

Vishal J. Aman was confirmed by the Senate as the new Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) this month. Aman was formerly the Senior Council of the House Judiciary Committee and President Trump’s nominee to replace Daniel Henry Marti.

The Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), referred to as the ‘IP Czar,’ was created as part of the PRO-IP Act of 2008. As the new IP Czar, Mr. Aman will work in the Executive Office and serve as the chief advisor to the President on enforcement and coordination of the intellectual property efforts of the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.