Combating Counterfeiting

With the economic value of counterfeiting and piracy estimated at US$650 billion annually* and the health and safety of consumers around the world at risk, the stakes have never been higher in the global battle against counterfeiters. Aimed at evolving successful investigative techniques even further, the 2012 International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property (IP) Crime Conference, co-hosted by Interpol and the Policía Nacional de Panamá in partnership with UL, kicked off on Sept. 11 in Panama City, Panama. The three-day event – titled “East Meets West: Working with the Americas to Combat Counterfeiting” – brings the public and private sectors together to share and develop best practices to fight counterfeiting and piracy crimes.

More than 500 delegates representing law enforcement, regulatory and custom agencies, private sector IP crime investigators, and prosecutors from more than 50 countries are expected to attend the conference. The event features plenary sessions, workshops, interactive round tables and specialized IP crime learning sessions as well as one-on-one networking sessions to enable delegates to discuss operational matters with representatives of investigative agencies and other organizations. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the sixth annual international conference, UL President and CEO Keith Williams focused on three important steps to ending counterfeiting: education on the danger of counterfeit products and the damage they cause to consumers and business; information sharing among law enforcement professionals to analyze trends for more effective targeting of on-the-ground intervention; and interdiction operations by law enforcement, customs and regulatory agencies to curtail counterfeiting activities.

Other UL executives speaking at the conference were Terry Brady, senior vice president and general counsel; Barbara Guthrie, vice president of consumer affairs; and Brian Monks, vice president of anti-counterfeiting operations.

UL takes an aggressive stance against counterfeiting through a comprehensive program that involves law enforcement agencies from around the world. UL works closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, the RCMP, Interpol and other law enforcement agencies around the world to provide them with information to distinguish between authentic and counterfeit UL Marks.

UL has a zero tolerance policy for counterfeit goods and does not consent to the import, export or manipulation of seized merchandise carrying a counterfeit UL Mark. We have worked with law enforcement to enable thousands of seizures of counterfeit products at entry ports from coast to coast, preventing millions of products bearing counterfeit UL Marks from reaching the marketplace and consumers. In addition, UL requires holographic labels for product categories targeted by counterfeiters.

*Frontier Economics, Estimating the Global Economic and Social Impacts of Counterfeiting and Piracy, February 2011;
http://www.theglobalipcenter.com/facts