Flea market vendors, beware! Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may be doing some of their holiday shopping at your flea market.
On October 14, ICE agents paid a visit to the D.C. Farmers Market where they served search
warrants and conducted plain view searches. Agents seized over 18,000 pieces of counterfeit merchandise with a retail value of almost $3 million. Prior to the seizures, agents made purchases from some of the vendors, which were determined to be counterfeit.
Without enforcement, manufacturers will continue produce lower cost inferior goods that violate the trademark, copyright and patent laws. Some of these inferior goods such as pharmaceuticals could be hazardous to consumer’s health because they are not manufactured under the same regulations and processes as the patented or trademarked goods. Trade in counterfeit goods also costs the true owners around the world billions of dollars annually.
If you shop at a flea market and find name brands such as New Balance, Fendi, Versace, Calvin Klein, NFL and other recognized brands at a price that sounds too good to be true, consider that the goods may be counterfeit. Do your part to protect intellectual property rights. If you discover name brand goods that are being sold in unusual locations and at a price that is artificially low for the brand, report the information to the IPR Center by contacting the toll-free hotlin3e at 866-IPR-2060 or completing the online tip form at http://www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp
If you are a vendor selling counterfeit goods, you should beware. The sweet little old lady or the teenager buying your goods could be an undercover ICE agent!
Source:
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (2011, October 17). ICE HSI seizes $3 million worth of counterfeit items at D.C.-area flea market. Retrieved from http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1110/111017washingtondc.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment