Getting Burned by Knockoffs
According to the FDA, drug counterfeiters defraud consumers by selling products that resemble legitimate drugs but may contain inactive or incorrect ingredients, contain improper doses of active ingredients or be otherwise contaminated. Fake or "generic" ED drugs may be manufactured in unregulated factories, the drugs may contain dangerous additives or the illegal drugs may not work as claimed, or at all. Many online pharmacies that sell counterfeit Viagra or illegal "generic" ED medications require no physician evaluation. Sales of illegal generic versions of Viagra are largely driven through unsolicited email (or spam) that promotes the purchase of these products.
Counterfeiting drugs is one of the many categories of intellectual property that creates threats to consumer safety, brand loyalty & the bottom line. Trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy are serious Intellectual Property crimes that defraud consumers, threaten the health of patients, cost society billions of dollars in lost government revenues, foreign investments or business profits and violate the rights of trademark, patent, and copyright owners. Imitation products pose a significant safety threat to consumers worldwide.
Unsuspecting customers and severely sick patients put their health, and even life, in jeopardy each time they use counterfeit medication (containing little or no active ingredients), alcoholic beverages, food products or travel in automobiles and aircrafts maintained with substandard counterfeit parts. In June of 2007, counterfeit Colgate toothpaste was recalled when it was found to contain antifreeze chemicals in the tubes. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19214360/
Intellectual Property according to Wikipedia
Intellectual property (IP) are legal property rights over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law.[1] Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; ideas, discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property
Intellectual Property as Assets are Protected under the Law
Innovation is at the core of America's success and intellectual property (IP) is protected by the Constitution's Article 1, Section 8, which states, "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Protecting intellectual property encourages innovation and new advances. In addition, Intellectual property is vital to creating jobs, saving lives, advancing global economic growth, and generating breakthrough solutions to global challenges.
Some of the Costs
• Information provided at the WA State Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Conference on June 24th, 2009 at the US Courthouse in Seattle:
• U.S. intellectual property is worth $5-5.5 trillion
• According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, intellectual property in this country is worth more than $5 trillion
• Intellectual property theft's impact on the global economy accounts for $500-600 billion in lost sales each year
• Counterfeiting and piracy costs the U.S. between $200-250 billion in lost sales each year
IPR violations create large financial impacts to Washington companies. During the conference, in Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna’s keynote speech, he cited PACCAR and Kenworth Trucks as two local companies impacted by truck parts being counterfeited in China. Counterfeit Microsoft software can run lost revenue into the billions.
20 plane crashes have been attributed to counterfeit parts. In the industry, they are known as “bogus parts”. The worldwide aircraft parts inventory is worth $45 billion.
Intellectual Property Rights Resources
For more information on IPR protection or for agencies to contact:
On January 23, 2009, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) released its “Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement Manual,” a publication designed to help businesses protect their consumers and brands. The manual features case studies on the proven strategies companies are implementing to protect their creative assets from criminal counterfeiting and piracy. The manual is available at www.theglobalipcenter.com/.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plays a leading role in targeting criminal organizations responsible for producing, smuggling and distributing counterfeit products. http://www.ice.gov/pi/cornerstone/ipr/
Local Law Enforcement
Secret Service
www.secretservice.gov
915 2nd Ave # 890
Seattle, WA 98174-1009
(206) 220-6800
FBI Seattle Field Office
http://seattle.fbi.gov/contact.htm
Seattle.FBI@ic.fbi.gov,
1110 Third Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98101-2904
Seattle Police
http://www.seattle.gov/police/contact/
Fraud, Forgery & Financial Exploitation
(206)684-5485
Deanna J. Locke, CISSP, CISA, CIPP, is a privacy and information security professional based in the Seattle area. She serves as the Co-Chair of the WTIA Security SIG.