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.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is warning consumers of counterfeit eclipse glasses that are being sold for the August 21st 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 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.
“Drug importation proposals would worsen the opioid crisis – a crisis that
has already grown substantially worse due to the powerful opioid fentanyl
and fentanyl analogue-laced counterfeit pills being produced by illegal drug
trafficking organizations, including in China, and reaching the United States
through Canada and Mexico.”
“Report on the Potential Impact of Drug Importation Proposals on U.S. Law Enforcement” by Louis Freeh, et al.
S.469, Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act, sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will amend the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 384) to allow for the importation of drugs by wholesale distributors, pharmacies and individuals. S.469 opens importation first from Canada and within two years from any country that is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
However, critics of S.469, notably former FBI director Louis Freeh, have criticized the bill warning that it will exacerbate the problem of counterfeit opiods, specifically fentanyl, which is a great problem throughout the United States and Canada (see attached report).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmGzX37r2as
Counterfeit Fentanyl
Fentanyl, a dangerous painkiller, is 20 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. The drugs are so toxic that investigators have to wear hazmat suits during seizures. In a report by The Partnership for Safe Medicines, U.S. authorities began reporting waves of overdoses and fatalities after residents took counterfeit Xanax or opioids that contained fentanyl or fentanyl analogues in 2015. The problem has spread to at least 31 states, and recently, authorities have been seeing pills containing carfentanil, an even more powerful drug used to sedate large animals. The problem is the drug is smuggled from Canada or Mexico across the border into the United States.
According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, hundreds of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills laced with a deadly synthetic opioid, usually fentanyl, have infiltrated the US drug market. The problem is expected to escalate.
The pills are pressed using pharmacy-grade machines to look like known prescription painkillers. An increasing number of Americans addicted to opioids are seeking out the legit painkillers illegally, and instead are buying the synthetic. They contain various amounts of fentanyl. The pills must often be tested by a lab to determine if they are counterfeit.
Most people are unaware but the Copyright Office is located in the Library of Congress and the Register of Copyright is appointed by Librarian of Congress, who approves all regulations issued by the Copyright Office and oversees the budget. This arrangement stems from the deposit arrangement that publishers have with the Copyright Office and allows the Library easy access to the books. This arrangement worked during the 19th Century but is out of step with the scope of the Copyright Office and the complexity of copyright law.
To remedy the situation, the House of Representatives voted in favor of H.R.1695 in April which will make the Register of Copyrights a Presidential appointee, confirmed by the Senate, and creating a panel of Congressional leaders who would recommend at least three qualified candidates for the President to choose from. The Senate issued a mirror bill days later, which is also expected to pass.
Elsevier, a large scientific American publisher, won a $15 million default judgement for copyright infringement against Sci-Hub and the Library of Genesis, two pirate websites that offer free downloads of tens of millions of scientific papers and books.
Alexandra Elbakyan, founder of Sci-Hub, did not appear at the trial which was in New York City. However, she sent a letter to the court stating her reasons for launching the website in 2011. While studying at a University in Kazakhstan she needed access to hundreds of scientific papers and could not afford to pay for them.
Sci-Hub connects to a database of stolen papers. If a user requests a paper in that database, Sci-Hub serves it up. If the paper is not there, Sci-Hub uses library passwords it has collected to find the paper, provides it to the searcher, and then adds it to the database.
To date, Elbakyan has made an estimated 50 million scholarly articles available on Sci-Hub. Many academics, university librarians and longtime advocates for open scholarly research are closely following her efforts. Both Sci-Hub and Library of Genesis are based in Russia.
For those of you who follow my blog and who wish to attend the 19th Annual Anti-Counterfeiting & Brand Protection Summit this September 27th-29th in New York, New York, I am pleased to present to you with a discount to the Summit. See attached agenda I look forward to seeing everyone in September. The location will be announced shortly.
You’ll be seeubg something new if you travel through any one of six United States International Airports this summer.
“The Truth Behind the Counterfeits” is a consumer awareness campaign launched by The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which last year seized more than $1.3 billion in counterfeit goods, that will run through the end of July.
The six airports are: Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport; Chicago O’Hare International Airport; Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport; Los Angeles International Airport; New York John F. Kennedy International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.
“CBP is committed to protecting consumers and enforcing U.S. trade laws, and this campaign will help raise awareness and educate the traveling public about the dangers of purchasing counterfeit goods,” said Brenda Smith, Executive Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Trade. “Not only do counterfeits damage the American economy, such goods can threaten the health and safety of consumers.”
Digital ads will also be displayed on travel websites to augment the physical ads in the airports.
Operation Team Player is a continuing year round investigation conducted by NFL Properties and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other law enforcement agencies to combat the problem of counterfeit sports apparel, fake tickets and web sites selling fake sports apparel. The investigations culminate in February during the Super Bowl weekend when illegal sales activity is highest.
In February, 2017 at the conclusion of Superbowl 51 Homeland Security investigations resulted in the seizure of over 260,000 counterfeit sports related items worth an estimated $20 million. Fifty-six persons were arrested, leading to fifty convictions.
The results in 2016 were equally impressive. With the seizures of 450,000 counterfeit sports-related items worth an estimated $39 million, including counterfeit tickets (see video below).
