The world’s leading designers of luxury wristwatches are making a concerted effort to stop the growing trend of copying traditional watch-faces on to smart devices. TorrentFreak, the piracy news site, reports that big brands including Omega, Tissot, Certina and Mondaine have taken exception to so-called ‘pirate’ faces being made available for new smartwatches, and are now trying […]
£25,000 Bill for eBay Trader Convicted of Selling Fake Cosmetics
An eBay seller from Exmouth who was convicted of supplying fake and unsafe cosmetic products has been ordered to pay almost £25,000 following a financial investigation into the profits made from the sales under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Deborah Hamber received a four month suspended prison sentence plus 150 hours of community service at Exeter […]
NEC Wants You to Spot Counterfeits Using Your Phone’s Camera
Want to find out whether or not something at the street market is a fake? In the future, you might only have to snap a photo with your smartphone. NEC has developed “object fingerprint” technology that compares the tiniest details of an object (such as the metal or plastic grain) with images in a cloud […]
Couple who Made Fake One Direction and Race for Life Merchandise Ordered to Pay £75,000
Surelock had, as part of ongoing anti-counterfeit investigations, identified the eBay and web site of Fonfella as selling several of our music artists counterfeit garments. We subsequently made test purchases and carried out our observations to establish the location of the business. These findings were reported to Sutton Trading Standards and a joint operation […]
£3m Boost for City of London IP Crime Unit
The fight against digital piracy and counterfeit goods was today (23 October 2014) boosted by £3 million of new government funding to the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU). Minister for Intellectual Property (IP), Baroness Neville-Rolfe announced the government’s funding commitment to the national crime unit at the Anti Counterfeiting Group Conference in London. […]
Company Director Sold Fake One Direction Goods
This case was brought to court following an initial investigation by Surelock. A female director of a company based in a village near Bristol has been given a suspended prison sentence for counterfeiting offences. Lorraine Eyre was given eight months in prison, suspended for two years at Bristol Crown Court after previously pleaded guilty to 18 charges […]
Thousands Visit Wembley Market on its First Day
( Photo: Chris Winter) Around 8,000 people flocked to the new Wembley Market on its first day of Sunday trading yesterday. Shoppers enjoyed the wares on offer at the 210 stalls following the re-opening of the popular trading place which was axed by developers Quintain last year due to the volume of fake goods for […]
Apps Open International Door to Counterfeit Sellers
First there was the Internet. Then eBay. Then Facebook. Now apps are giving international companies and trading standards officers a run for their money by helping traders in counterfeit goods hawk their wares. This is how it works. The app owner allows customers to download an app for free from Apple. As soon as the […]
Two Prosecuted by Caerphilly Trading Standards over Fake Goods
The successful prosecution of Darren Greenhaf follows an investigation and evidence provided by Surelock. Caerphilly Trading Standards have issued a warning for residents to be on their guard against fake goods. The warning comes after two men were prosecuted by Caerphilly County Borough Council for selling counterfeit goods and tobacco. Darren Greenhaf, 40 of Heol […]
Can Alibaba Knock Out Knockoffs?
Although Alibaba Group has been cracking down on vendors using its online marketplaces to sell counterfeit goods, consumers aren’t likely to be any safer after the company’s initial public offering. Counterfeiters are finding new ways of moving their goods. Brand protection firms, which hunt down fake versions of clients’ products online, say Alibaba Group, has […]