@Risk

Last week, the Senate Armed Services Committee announced that it has launched an investigation into counterfeit electronic parts in the Department of Defense’s supply chain.

According to a statement by Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, the presence of counterfeit electronic parts in the Defense Department’s supply chain is a growing problem, and both government and industry share a common interest in solving it.

From the statement:

Counterfeit electronic parts pose a risk to our national security, the reliability of our weapons systems and the safety of our military men and women. The proliferation of counterfeit goods also damages our economy and costs American jobs.

A report last January by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Technology Evaluation, found that counterfeit electronics are already present in troubling amounts in the DOD supply chain. The report, which covered 2005 to 2008, revealed that:

• More than one-third (39 percent) of the companies and organizations included in the study had encountered counterfeit electronics during the four-year period.

• The number of incidents grew from 3,868 in 2005 to 9,356 in 2008.

OTE made several recommendations in the report. For example, in order to inhibit the circulation of counterfeit electronics, the OTE wants the US government to: (more…)

The 21st session of the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) ended last week with the announcement that China has agreed to significant initiatives in several areas, including:

• intellectual property rights enforcement,
• open and neutral technology standards,
• clean energy, and
• government procurement.

In addition, with regard to indigenous innovation, China agreed not to discriminate in government procurement based on the origin of intellectual property or to use discriminatory criteria to select industrial equipment. And, China also agreed to resume talks on beef market access.
(more…)

Fake products are penetrating supply chains deeper than ever before, and as remarkable as it sounds, researchers now estimate that over the last two decades, counterfeiting has multiplied by 10,000 percent, globally.

Of course, fake components endanger more than just your company’s bottom line. They also threaten your intellectual property, your reputation, and your warranties and returns. In some cases, the risks are even greater; some counterfeit products can compromise the end users’ health and safety, as well.

How can companies combat this continual –and constantly evolving –assault? (more…)

The counterfeiting of pharmaceuticals is growing in both scope and impact, and now manufacturers and regulators alike are searching for more sophisticated traceability systems.

One “breakthrough approach” currently in development will allow manufacturers to label their products with a two-dimensional dot-matrix that is linked to an online database. GB Innomech, the company developing the new coding system, says this new approach is low-cost and effective: (more…)

Last month, federal officials cracked down on West Coast shop owners who allegedly sell counterfeit merchandise.

In one of the largest federal enforcement actions ever taken against West Coast retailers suspected of selling counterfeit designer apparel and accessories, the authorities seized approximately $100 million worth of counterfeit merchandise and charged the owners, operators and employees of eight shops in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf district with a 25-count indictment.

According to a press release, the designer fakes, which were illegally imported from China, included clothing, handbags and wallets, jewelry and watches, scarves, sunglasses and shoes –all bearing the labels of more than 70 well-known designer brands. Among the brands were a number of US-based companies like Oakley, Dooney and Bourke, Nike, Coach and Kate Spade, and foreign designers such as Armani, Burberry, Prada and Louis Vuitton. Affidavits filed in connection with the case describe multiple instances where clerks at the targeted stores acknowledged to ICE undercover agents posing as customers that the merchandise they were buying was counterfeit. (more…)