Ford drops suit against counterfeiters and trademark infringers

Zach Bowman — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 08:44:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Government/Legal, Ford

Ford has dropped a lawsuit against 13 individuals accused of selling counterfeit products with the automaker's trademarks, according to The Detroit News. The company originally wanted to acquire names, addresses, telephone numbers, bank account numbers and emails from sites like eBay and PayPal without informing the accused, but a federal magistrate judge in Detroit initially denied the request, ordering the sites instead to notify its users.

Ford appealed, saying notification would allow defendants time to destroy evidence and possibly flee before Ford and its lawyers could obtain their identities. The judge eventually relented, allowing Ford access to names and addresses but blocking other personal information. Ford withdrew the suit last week anyway.

The Detroit News reports a 2007 U.S. Chamber of Commerce study indicated that Ford loses around $1 billion per year to counterfeit auto parts. The report spurred the manufacturer to pursue offenders more vigorously. Counterfeit parts drag in $12 billion per year world wide, with $3 billion of that figure coming from the U.S. alone.

Ford drops suit against counterfeiters and trademark infringers originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Counterfeit parts overwhelm China, include fake airbags, oil seals

Zach Bowman — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 07:58:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, China, Government/Legal

According to Automotive News China, the shady side of the People's Republic is set to sell $45 billion worth of counterfeit auto parts this year. Those include high-volume pieces like spark plugs, brake pads and steering components as well as oil seals and airbags. All told, the report says that China is responsible for a hefty 83 percent of the world's counterfeit parts, leading the top three producers by a wide margin. The report goes on to state that Taiwan and Thailand are responsible for five percent of the pie each, while Japan and Malaysia weigh in with two percent each of the counterfeit market.

In many cases, authorities are ill-equipped to handle the sheer volume of rip-off artists. In one instance, a facility that produces knock-off oil seals gets shut down once a year only to re-open at full capacity. That plant had the capacity to produce seven million fake oil seals per year in 2008. Now that number is up to 10 million.

In the case of the seals, the manufacturer uses low-grade rubber and metal to cut costs, and as a result, the fake pieces carry a price tag that's less than half of the genuine article. They're also almost guaranteed to fail.

Meanwhile, legitimate Chinese companies are beginning to fit their boxes with radio frequency ID tags to distinguish their products from the fakes.

[Source: Automotive News China - Sub. Req.]

Report: Counterfeit parts overwhelm China, include fake airbags, oil seals originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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