Joined
·
5,242 Posts
From The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same File dated 1999 from ZD.net:
When companies come across a cyberfeiter, they typically dispatch a cease-and-desist letter. Even if that doesn't shut the site down, it may prompt the operator to quit selling the product in question. "It won't solve the problem, but it will cut it down to something you can address," says Bill Ellis of National Trademark Investigations in Los Angeles. His firm has five employees who monitor the Web for companies such as Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer International SA.
Manufacturers file lawsuits
Rolex Watch USA Inc. has gone a step further, filing two lawsuits this spring in federal district court in New York. One suit alleges that two Arizona men, Yanksova Sow and Tad Adkins, sold counterfeit Rolexes over a variety of sites with names such as World of Replicas and Replica Universe. According to the complaint, the now-defunct sites claimed certain counterfeit watches were "100% exact... down to the serial number." (Cartier has also filed a similar suit against Mr. Sow, also in federal district court in New York.)
A lawyer for Mr. Sow said his client respects the position of Cartier and Rolex but expressed concern that the companies were targeting relatively unsophisticated sellers. Mr. Adkins says he isn't aware of the lawsuit and believes someone else may be selling fakes on a site he used to operate.
Rolex has also sued Mr. Jones of Deals by Todd. "I'm not trying to deceive anybody," says Mr. Jones. "I'm just selling a replica."
Online-auction services have had some limited success cracking down on fakes. Officials at eBay automatically shut down auctions when a trademark holder notifies the company of a counterfeit item for sale. Some luxury-goods makers have asked for additional help, but the auction sites say they can't do much more. "We have about 10,000 new items going up every hour," says Brad Handler, eBay's director of public policy. "It's just impractical to think we can police it all by ourselves."
When companies come across a cyberfeiter, they typically dispatch a cease-and-desist letter. Even if that doesn't shut the site down, it may prompt the operator to quit selling the product in question. "It won't solve the problem, but it will cut it down to something you can address," says Bill Ellis of National Trademark Investigations in Los Angeles. His firm has five employees who monitor the Web for companies such as Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer International SA.
Manufacturers file lawsuits
Rolex Watch USA Inc. has gone a step further, filing two lawsuits this spring in federal district court in New York. One suit alleges that two Arizona men, Yanksova Sow and Tad Adkins, sold counterfeit Rolexes over a variety of sites with names such as World of Replicas and Replica Universe. According to the complaint, the now-defunct sites claimed certain counterfeit watches were "100% exact... down to the serial number." (Cartier has also filed a similar suit against Mr. Sow, also in federal district court in New York.)
A lawyer for Mr. Sow said his client respects the position of Cartier and Rolex but expressed concern that the companies were targeting relatively unsophisticated sellers. Mr. Adkins says he isn't aware of the lawsuit and believes someone else may be selling fakes on a site he used to operate.
Rolex has also sued Mr. Jones of Deals by Todd. "I'm not trying to deceive anybody," says Mr. Jones. "I'm just selling a replica."
Online-auction services have had some limited success cracking down on fakes. Officials at eBay automatically shut down auctions when a trademark holder notifies the company of a counterfeit item for sale. Some luxury-goods makers have asked for additional help, but the auction sites say they can't do much more. "We have about 10,000 new items going up every hour," says Brad Handler, eBay's director of public policy. "It's just impractical to think we can police it all by ourselves."
