There is nothing like BLACK FRIDAY=====the greatest shopping day after Thanksgiving to open the door to what will become the NEXT GREAT FRAUDS AND CORRUPTIONS this time the global 1% and their 2% fighting among one another moving that wealth to the top. Obama and Clinton neo-liberals spent these several years pushing, passing, and funding all that was needed to centralize control of all corporate patenting and profiteering to this same global 1% and their 2%. By creating IVY LEAGUE hedge fund corporate R and D facilities ----by creating a nepotism selective appointment process to the only people able to earn millions of dollars as 'university department heads' or global corporate R and D executives-----by tying all that free student labor bringing the most talented to this global hedge fund IVY LEAGUE corporate university only to have any successful product patented by that 'hedge fund university' and SOLD to that 1% and their 2% -----ALL PROCESSES OF PATENTING AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH STAYS WITHIN THAT GLOBAL 1%.
THIS IS WHAT OBAMA AND CLINTON NEO-LIBERALS SPENT THESE SEVERAL YEARS CREATING---THAT IS MIKULSKI, SARBANES, CUMMINGS, AND CARDIN IN BALTIMORE AS WITH ALL CONGRESSIONAL POLS.
Now we hear of all these KNOCK-OFFS OF BRAND NAMES-----here we are told China is tops in counterfeiting. No what? Global Wall Street is tied to plenty of Chinese corporations and they can flood any market with any brand knock off to kill any new INNOVATION NOT TIED TO GLOBAL WALL STREET 1% AND THEIR 2%.
An anonymous reader writes
"Here is an article by Dr.Joe Stiglitz on how intellectual property reinforces inequality by allowing patent owners to seek rent (aka license / sue) instead of delivering goods to the society. From the article: 'At first glance, the case, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, might seem like scientific arcana: the court ruled, unanimously, that human genes cannot be patented, though synthetic DNA, created in the laboratory, can be. But the real stakes were much higher, and the issues much more fundamental, than is commonly understood. The case was a battle between those who would privatize good health, making it a privilege to be enjoyed in proportion to wealth, and those who see it as a right for all — and a central component of a fair society and well-functioning economy. Even more deeply, it was about the way inequality is shaping our politics, legal institutions and the health of our population'.'"
Our national media let's us know our US PORTS OF ENTRY----Customs are filled with inspectors looking for trade counterfeiting----know who is protecting WE THE PEOPLE----NO ONE. All justice agencies are tied to protecting global corporations and this patent-counterfeiting will take trillions of dollars to protect.
One thing the SNOWDEN whistle-blowing showed WE THE PEOPLE was it is the US using NSA surveillance and spying that is behind MOST INDUSTRIAL corruption and indeed they will be the ones behind industrial brand counterfeiting targeted attacks. No doubt other nations will be doing so as well------the problem for Americans----open borders as Foreign Economic Zone ONE WORLD ONE GOVERNANCE-----floods our US Ports of Entry with just this capability-----we don't want protectionism but we do not want a complete loss of the American people to create and sell ANYTHING.
China Dunks on Michael Jordan
By Jennifer Kovalcik on August 12, 2015 Posted in Trademarks
Michael Jordan has one of the best trademark brands in basketball and is by all accounts a worldwide legend. But, that didn’t help him prevent a Chinese company from registering multiple trademarks using a similar name and silhouette of a player on athletic shoes.
The Chinese company operates as Qiaodan Sports Co, where Qiaodan is a Mandarin version of Jordan and the name by which Michael Jordan is known in China. In addition to using the “Jump Man” silhouette, the company also uses Jordan’s jersey number – 23.
Michael Jordan asked the Beijing court to cancel Qiaodan Sports’ trademark registration but after several years of legal battles and multiple proceedings, he again lost. Jordan seems poised to appeal.
Knockoffs and imitators are prevalent in China. As more and more businesses operate on a global stage, there are two important trademark lessons that you can learn from Jordan’s epic battle with Qiaodan Sports Co.
Note, however, that a registration in mainland China might not be enough for your protection. Additional filings and registrations are recommended for separate countries and administrative provinces such as Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
If you file a U.S. trademark application, then you have a priority window of six months to file additional trademark applications in other countries under your U.S. filing date. This prevents a pirate from watching U.S. trademark filings (which they do), and beating you to the punch by immediately filing a foreign trademark application for the same mark.
In 2014, Customs had 436 seizures of shipments resulting in $2.6 Million (MSRP) just in major sports league apparel according to the department’s statistical report. For all industries, there were nearly 25,000 seizures of over $1.2 Billion in merchandise.
If Jordan (or Nike) recorded their U.S. Trademark Registrations with Customs, which I have to assume they did, they will have some protection to try to get Customs to stop the Qiaodan shoes advertised by AliExpress from being shipped into the United States, notwithstanding Jordan’s ongoing legal efforts in China.
For all you Jordan fans out there, check out this montage of Top 10 Slam Dunks. At only 5’3’’, I have no vertical leap, so am constantly amazed at how this man flies!
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This is what a developing nation COSMOPOLITAN city looks like----tons of counterfeiting, illegal products, stolen products arriving through massive global ports AS PORT OF BALTIMORE HAS BEEN MADE THESE FEW DECADES. While national media focuses on the global corporate brand names tied to handbags, shoes, jewelry etc------it is our local crafts people who ultimately end up not being able to compete with everyday KNOCK-OFFS. From local crafts people making furniture, food products, textiles-----when these illegal port entries hit our community markets AND THEY ALWAYS DO----WE THE PEOPLE cannot even sell our own crafts.
You can bet it will be the Guccis and the UGGS that this growing global security force works to protect.
"Most people don’t think twice about the Nike sneakers, Coach handbags, Gucci shoes and Cartier watches sold on the streets, in stores and over the Internet that aren’t what they appear to be," said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. But he said supporting the counterfeit market cheats U.S. companies and employees'
US national media reporting on this explosion of counterfeiting and illegal products during our BLACK FRIDAY AND HOLIDAY SHOPPING says-----customs will burn/destroy all those counterfeit shoes, clothes, furniture. Now globally we have global CRIMINAL CARTELS ENSLAVING GLOBAL LABOR POOL TO FACTORIES PRODUCING KNOCK-OFFS while our global corporations enslave global labor pool in global factories producing brand names. All of this is happening because of global market expansion and Foreign Economic Zone development.
International smuggling ring used Baltimore as entry to U.S., authorities say
An international counterfeiting ring smuggled tens of millions of dollars worth of fake Coach handbags, Nike sneakers, Gucci shoes and Cartier watches into the United States though the Port of Baltimore, federal authorities charged Friday in announcing the indictment of the ring's members.
In the culmination of a two-year undercover investigation, a federal grand jury in Baltimore indicted nine people in a scheme to bring the bogus goods, made in Malaysia and China, into the country.
In a related investigation, London police nabbed six suspects Thursday and collected fake Versace, Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Nike clothes, shoes and other items, in what officials said is among the largest seizures ever of counterfeit goods in England.
“This was not a mom-and-pop organization,” said John Morton, a U.S. Immigration and Customs assistant secretary, at a news conference. “This was organized crime on a grand scale. Millions were made by crooks, millions were lost by legitimate U.S. companies.”
Authorities said the ring planned to expand to counterfeit drugs next, and in September, one of the defendants sent a sample of counterfeit Viagra to a business in Maryland in hopes of finding a market.
The Maryland business, which purported to import and export products without paying taxes and customs duties, was actually part of the government’s undercover operation.
Three New Yorkers were indicted: Josephine O. Zhou, 32; Kin Yip Ng, 43, and Yenn-Kun Hsieh, 45.
Also indicted were Wai Hong Yong, 43, and Eng Cheng Kee, 40, of Malaysia; and Hexing Yang, 38, Chan Hong Xu, 40, Lidan Zhang, 39, and Kai T. Jaing, 25, all of China.
Yong, Kee and Yang were arrested in Guam, while other defendants were picked up in Maryland, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina. Xu is still at large.
Officials won’t say how they first got wind of the ring.
But when a container filled with 10,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike sneakers entered the Baltimore port in May 2008, undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who had infiltrated the ring were there to receive it, according to court papers.
The next month, the undercover officers delivered the sneakers to defendants in Brooklyn and were paid a $25,000 smuggling fee in cash.
The shipping containers kept coming, court papers say. First, thousands more Nike sneakers. Then, in January 2009, a container arrived with 25,000 fake Coach bags. That April, about 10,000 pairs of bogus Coach and Gucci shoes arrived.
In total, the ring smuggled in 500,000 fake Coach bags, 120,00 pairs of counterfeit Nike shoes, 10,000 pairs of bogus Gucci and Coach shoes and 500 counterfeit Cartier watches, the indictment alleges.
The undercover officers were paid a smuggling fee for the deliveries. But they also were given tens of thousands of dollars of additional cash, and instructions to wire that money to accounts in Malaysia or a company in Asia. That cash was “laundered” through the undercover business, authorities said.
The fake items were headed to New York or New Jersey, where they would make their way onto the streets, into stores or to Internet sales sites.
"Most people don’t think twice about the Nike sneakers, Coach handbags, Gucci shoes and Cartier watches sold on the streets, in stores and over the Internet that aren’t what they appear to be," said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. But he said supporting the counterfeit market cheats U.S. companies and employees.
The defendants face charges including conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States, trafficking in counterfeit goods and money laundering.
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As CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA create an insular economic system for just the global rich in US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones WE THE PEOPLE are being told to BE THAT INNOVATOR AND PRODUCT-MAKER -----bring back ARTISAN CRAFTS------we of course have a once strong art school MICA being developed to be a global corporate crafts shop where students toil away for free while that global Master Crafts-person pockets millions.
This is what will be coming soon to all US cities -------INTERNATIONAL BAZAARS where we are told it is left social democratic to allow crafts from around the world fill our farmer's markets. Now, we have in modern times had these global artisan stores---what is coming is a complete inability for any American crafts person to compete in this simple local crafts trade.
Here is the PHILLIPINES a long-time Foreign Economic Zone with their 1% and their 2% sending their citizens into the global labor pool like no other. This is NOT SOCIALLY PROGRESSIVE it deliberately keeps any local citizens from being able to build a business.
EACH OF THESE NATIONS ARE ONE WORLD FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES------MALAYSIA, CHILE, KOREA, NIGERIA with the Netherlands and Switzerland being European nations already in colonialism
'The Spouses of the Heads of Mission: SHOM president Martine Boon Von Ochssee (Netherlands) with MasitahBintiAlang Ahmad (Malaysia), SHOM president Paulina S. Mayorga (Chile), Won Wha Soon (Korea), Caecilia Legowo (Indonesia), Omolara Evelyn Farounbi (Nigeria), and Gracita Tolentino (Switzerland)'
One can easily see these INTERNATIONAL BAZAARS taking place on the UNDERARMOUR COVE POINT GLOBAL RESORT CAMPUS. These events have always been part of our US cosmopolitan cities like NYC, LA, etc---when we make all of our US mid-size cities into these same global cosmopolitan cities there is no way for locals to compete.
Shop global, help local at the International Bazaar
(The Philippine Star) | Updated November 10, 2013 - 12:00am
The Spouses of the Heads of Mission:
SHOM president Martine Boon Von Ochssee (Netherlands) with MasitahBintiAlang Ahmad (Malaysia), SHOM president Paulina S. Mayorga (Chile), Won Wha Soon (Korea), Caecilia Legowo (Indonesia), Omolara Evelyn Farounbi (Nigeria), and Gracita Tolentino (Switzerland)MANILA, Philippines - The International Bazaar Foundation Inc. (IBF), the Ladies of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Spouses of Heads of Mission (SHOM), and members of the diplomatic and consular corps will hold the International Bazaar on Nov. 17, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the PICC Forums I, II and III, CCP Complex, Pasay City.
The annual bazaar features unique and authentic products from different countries around the world.
There will be 35 embassies and six consulates showcasing the best of their local wares. Over 100 booths will also sell Filipino products. Guests can also sample traditional dishes from the featured countries.
Proceeds of the one-day event will be donated to the IBF, which will then use them for various projects such as scholarship grants to deserving students from indigent families, financial support for the elderly, abused and abandoned children as well as victims of calamities.
Apart from the International Bazaar’s array of goods, guests will have a chance to win the latest Hyundai Accent car courtesy of HARI Foundation Inc. (Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc.) through its president and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo and IBF Inc. as the grand raffle prize.
There will also be airline tickets, kitchen appliances, hotel weekend packages and many more interesting prizes at stake when you buy a raffle ticket at P200.
IBF is headed by its chairperson Gretchen V. del Rosario, wife of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario. Other officers are Sylvia Farolan, president; Bambina Buenaventura, vice president; Rose Villamor, secretary; Alice Guerrero, treasurer; and Olivia Romulo, Margarita Tambunting, Marion Coscolluela, Consul General Fortune Ledesma, members of the Board of Trustees; Blessie Cabrera, special projects coordinator, Department of Foreign Affairs; and Nora Salazar, executive director.
Close Ad X
Tickets are available at P100, P200 for the raffle tickets at Tesoro’s outlets on Arnaiz Avenue, Makati City; and Mabini St., Ermita Manila. For inquiries, call 833-1320.
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Here we see the pathway to patenting made almost impossible for a mid-size start up------global corporations were allowed to hit our US patent office with all kinds of patents from these few centuries of US patents and hold them for their own control. This covers a wide span of invention in the US including those inventions never brought to market. At the same time global corporations have the power to BLOCK smaller companies wanting to get a start-----Congress passed all these laws during Obama with a majority Clinton global Wall Street neo-liberal Congress. Think of our local crafts people trying to build a small business having to constantly compete with global counterfeit and illegal goods in local markets-----then think about this mid-size startup trying to patent and expand a business---then think about the global IVY LEAGUE hedge fund university R and D research facilities allowing only the global 1% and their 2% a pathway to patenting and gains from such.
We need to remember these same policies were installed in all Foreign Economic Zones overseas these several years by World Bank and IMF to do just this-----capture every aspect of growing market share and business to only that same global 1% and their 2%...coming now to US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones like Baltimore
Oct 4, 2013 @ 12:57 AM
For Most Small Companies Patents Are Just About Worthless
Todd Hixon ,
Contributor
I blog about entrepreneurs, their world, and the new, new thing.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Update (Oct 7, 2014): It looks like patents are often useless for big companies, too. See the linked article on the wasteful smart phone patent litigation.
A widespread meme in the tech community holds that patents are a path to riches: an entrepreneur who solves a key technical problem and receives a patent can build a business on the technology and ride to glory. Xerox XRX +0.93% and Polaroid are celebrated examples (both now nearly extinct). But, IMHO, for most small companies today, patents are just about worthless. Many entrepreneurs misunderstand the value patents create, and how difficult they are to enforce.
It's not that simple ...
A patent is a sword, not a shield. It gives you the right to attack a competitor who makes commercial use of ("infringes") your patented technology. Contrary to common belief, it does not give you the right to practice your technology free of interference.
Patents are often quite narrow and hence can be circumvented: they might apply to a specific design element or combination of characteristics. They have effect only in the jurisdiction of the patent-granting authority: effective world coverage requires six to ten patents in different geographies.
The patented intellectual property is usually not sufficient to deliver the product. Lots of other intellectual property is needed, too, and others often have patents on some of that.
And, frequently two issued patents arguably describe the same thing. I once encountered two electronic circuit design patents that were identical except for the way in which the components are laid out (which does not affect function). Each design had received a patent (and the same person at the patent office had awarded both patents).
A murky situation often results. Let's say a new company ("TechCo) solves a key technical problem that enables new value for customers and launches a new business. But, TechCo will need to use a lot of other technology to build and deliver a complete product, e.g., the product design might be protected by a patent, but the manufacturing process might be subject to another company's "blocking" patent. And it won't always be clear how effective that blocking patent is: perhaps it's been issued, but arguably it’s vague or not original (grounds for invalidation), and until now the patent holder has not enforced it. Does TechCo have a problem? That’s a “definite maybe". The choice is to just go ahead and see, or seek a license, which could well be denied and will definitely get the patent holder's attention.
Enforcing your patent in the courts is a nightmare. Plan on 3-5 years and $3-$5 million to get to a judgment. And then there is the appeal ... Usually the stakes and time frame will be too much for a start-up. One of my portfolio companies sued a big company for infringement, and the judge has ruled that infringement occurred, but there are many legal maneuvers available, and the litigation clock and meter tick on in year four. We think the big company wants to make a statement: "let this be a lesson to small companies that have the temerity to sue us for infringement ..." Patent litigation is the true sport of kings.
It costs $20k-$30k to file a final (“utility”) patent. Some small companies make dozens of filings, spending a good fraction of a million dollars. When might this investment pay off?
There are situations where patents pay off. Drugs are a good example. Drugs are based on unique molecules that sell mainly on technical merits: efficacy, side effects, etc. Once this data is in, most successful drug start-ups are bought by a big drug company that has sales and manufacturing capability and lots of lawyers. The patent is indeed the lynchpin of value.
In the information technology world, patents have the most value in the hands of big companies, as part of patent “portfolios” so large that any competitor is bound to infringe some of them. They use this weapon to attack competitors (usually smaller ones) that lack patent portfolios: e.g., the lawsuits against Google GOOG +0.28%’s Android operating system. To defend itself, Google acquired Motorola, which owned a large relevant patent portfolio. Now Google can counter-sue. The usual result among the big companies is a stand-off, reciprocal licensing, or a patent pool wherein the major competitors share their patents, and new entrants are out in the cold. Five of the top global producers of light emitting diodes, for example, have established a formidable patent pool.
So it’s true that patents will be worth something when a company is acquired, but in my experience the value here is often not large. E.g., a company that had about 100 patents, some of them significant, was sold recently. The offers received indicate that the value of the patents alone was on the order of $10 million: under $100,000 per patent, which pays for the lawyers but very little of the R&D.
Ironically, patents can have more value to “patent trolls” than to small operating companies. Patent trolls buy up patents and use them to extract royalties from operating companies that have infringed them. They don’t sell any products, so they are not vulnerable to counter-suits. Patent trolls have had some notable successes, e.g., the $800m settlement RIM paid in its heyday.
My suggestions for a small technology companies*:
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Foreign Economic Zones these several decades of REAGAN/CLINTON created a human capital distribution system designed by global Wall Street with Johns Hopkins being tops in this industry. What happens when one or more nations begin these slave trades----more and more nations find people willing to sell, trade, capture, and enslave as indeed exists today. So, a criminal cartel like global Wall Street hires global criminal cartels to find people to bring to Foreign Economic Zones. Then those criminal cartels get the idea WE WILL BUILD OUR OWN GLOBAL FACTORIES TO ENSLAVE PEOPLE making KNOCK OFFS, local crafts, etc that then fill the global PORTS of ENTRY. More, women and children have been enslaved by CLINTON.BUSH/OBAMA then all the slave trades of colonial Americas----giving each other awards for being civil rights, women rights, labor rights leaders.
The point for US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones is this: those thinking global corporate campuses create jobs----are not thinking beyond today. They not only kill any ability to have a decent job---they kill any attempts to create any businesses outside of this global economy.
ALL WALL STREET BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT 'LABOR AND JUSTICE' PLAYERS KNOW THIS.
See why there are so many wars around Africa----this decade super-sized Foreign Economic Zone development in Africa---under Obama
East Africa: Eritrean Regime - Enslaving Its Own Citizens
By Zeray Hailemariam
For the last decades the tiny country called Eritrea earned the reputation of political instability and terrorism exporter into the Horn of Africa. Isayas Afworqi of Eritrea was regarded as brutal dictator. The senior officials of Eritrea have been accused of countless crimes against humanity both at their home and outside.
The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions twice on Eritrean officials for their belligerence of supporting terrorists and terrorism in Somalia and for their refusal to withdraw from the territory of Djibouti. It is to be recalled that the UN Human Rights Commission established an independent inquiry body to report back on the serious human rights violation being committed in Eritrea. It released its report last June which exposed summer of executions, death, genocidal against specific ethnic groups, raping against under-age girls, slavery, detentions over the last 20 years.
The report concluded that genocidal acts are in the making and suggested more investigation should be conducted. The inquiry commission is also conducting its investigation which are expected to make its final findings public next June of this year. Scholars made it abundantly clear that the officials of Eritrea will be brought into international courts if found guilty of the top human crime.
Following these, the regional organisation, IGAD, came up with another report exposing the involvement of senior officials of the Eritrean regime in human trafficking and smuggling activities through established international criminal networks.
The 39-page report entitled, "Human Smuggling and Trafficking on the Horn of Africa-Central Mediterranean Route" was made public February 19, 2016 during a consultation meeting organized by the new ISSP office, which was opened in Addis Ababa.
The Security Sector Programme (ISSP) of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has recently released a report finding exposing the involvement of Eritrean higher authorities in human trafficking and smuggling activities inside Eritrea and outside. The report conducted in collaboration with SAHAN Pathfinders in Policy and Practice based in Kenya has detailed on how human trafficking and smuggling activities are being conducted in the Horn of Africa.
The new report is summarized and presented to the Addis Ababa-based diplomats and the press by Matt Bryden, chairman of SAHAN. The report describes the illegal activities that are taking place from the Horn of Africa via Libya to Europe as a "dangerous and organized illicit trade" which has claiming thousands of innocent lives particularly from Eritrea. All Eritrean migrants fleeing the forced conscription of the regime in Asmara have been reportedly slaughtered, killed, dead on their way to Europe via Sudan, Egypt or Libya.
The IGAD report exposed that Eritrean senior officials typically arrange for transportation to Sudan or Ethiopia without any immigration procedures, adding some prominent Eritrean human smugglers appear to rely upon the services of Eritrean diplomats abroad.
Accordingly, human trafficking between the Horn of Africa and Europe is run by a 'sophisticated and integrated international networks that derive massive profits from the mass movement of thousands of migrants and refugees.' The principal smugglers and trafficking kingpins who dominate the central Mediterranean Route are predominantly Eritrean in nationality who reportedly collaborate with military generals, security officials.
The study claimed that there are two groups of migrants from Eritrea; those who fled Eritrea on their own and those who claim to have been assisted. Those travellers said that they have contacted facilitators in and outside Eritrea for a safe passage out of the country.
Some migrants are also reported to have obtained Eritrean ID cards and passports at the Eritrean embassy in Khartoum. The report identifies some of the key Eritrean nationals involved in smuggling and trafficking. Among them is an Eritrean individual known as John Habtu a.k.a. Obama, Jemal Saudi, Maesho Tesfamariam, Medhane Yehdego, Ermias Girmay, Wedi Isaq, Futsum, Awet Kidane and Habtom Merhay, who is indicted in the US in 2010 and pleaded guilty to having smuggled several "first-class" migrants from Eritrea. The other smuggler is a man by the name Efrem Misgna, who according the report has been arrested in Italy, usually serves as an escort for Eritrean government and party officials when they visit Europe. Efrem is seen escorting Yemane Gebrab in Sweden, senior government official, during the latter's visit to Stockholm in 2012.
"Human trafficking is an issue related to security that demands concerted efforts from members of the IGAD region and the international community" Commander Abebe Muluneh, Director of ISSP, who chaired the meeting, said.
It was also reported that migrants risk abandonment in the desert, kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs and abduction or execution by militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS). The attendees expressed the urgency and need for international collaboration to respond to the problem. Some even demanded the Security Council to pass a resolution against the officials and criminals involved in the smuggling.
This new report indicated that - in the same year - 154,000 migrants entered Europe which out of these 39,000 migrants are from Eritrea, which is the second smallest country in Africa.
Higher officials of the Isayas regime make the payments and providing passports to illegal migrants after receiving US dollars. They also provide military and security vehicles so that the migrants would not be checked in the checking points and borders which in return the migrants pay much US dollars.
For example, General Teklai Kifle aka 'Manjus' the commander of Eritrea's western zone, under arrest now, has been accused by previous UN investigation of collusion with Rashaida smuggling networks in eastern Sudan.
It has been reportedly said that most senior Eritrean have been collaborating with the human traffickers and smugglers to hasten hundreds of thousands people to flee. Unfortunately, most of them are vanished, killed, slaughtered and burnt on the way. Eritrea is the second largest refugee producing tiny nation next to the war-torn Syria in the world. It is said that one quarter of the refugees over flooding Europe comes from Eritrea. Several Eritreans have left their country with the help of human smugglers and senior officials.
The international community, EU, USA, AU and most importantly the UN Human Rights Commission and UNSC should take serious measures against the very regime which is playing an destructive role in in the Horn of Africa and enslaving its own citizens.
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The CARLYLE GROUP IS THE LARGEST GLOBAL HEDGE FUND----IT IS BUSH/CLINTON AND WHERE MUCH OF THAT TENS OF TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN WALL STREET FRAUD ENDED----here we see the global corporations now thinking they are central in building a Foreign Economic Zone---the same corporations that killed our US cities like Baltimore. These are the executive 5% to the 1% who could care less about life, liberty, justice----JUST SHOW THEM THE MONEY
'The Founding Board of the organization includes the CEOs and leaders of Ramsey Asset Management, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Johns Hopkins University, Capital One Financial Corporation, Dominion Resources, MedImmune, S&R Foundation, WGL Holdings, Inc. and Washington Gas, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, Under Armour, The Carlyle Group, McKinsey & Company, MedStar Health, T. Rowe Price, Rally Health, and EY. The Partnership will focus on the high impact drivers of the region’s economic growth including':
The #1 economic problem for Baltimore City has been these few decades of all Federal, state, and local revenue and funding being diverted to Wall Street Baltimore Development and Johns Hopkins which made most of the above the global corporations and hedge funds they are today. Just getting rid of Wall Street Baltimore Development would allow Baltimore communities to rebuild their local economies and MOVE BACK TO BEING AN AMERICAN CITY WITH A STRONG, STABLE ECONOMY.
Greater Washington Partnership to Spur Regional Economic Growth
Business WireDecember 14, 2016WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
A group of leading CEOs and entrepreneurs today announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration for the Greater Washington region—from Baltimore to Richmond—to address the critical economic issues facing the region and ensure it remains one of the world’s best places to live, work and build a business. The new Greater Washington Partnership (Partnership) will advance inclusive, actionable solutions that strengthen the regional economy and position Greater Washington as a leading global region and center for commerce and innovation.
The Partnership brings together civic-minded business leaders who share a commitment to the future of Greater Washington. It draws from a cross-sector of leading industries including health care, life sciences, energy, manufacturing, professional services, education, sports & entertainment and financial services.
The Founding Board of the organization includes the CEOs and leaders of Ramsey Asset Management, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Johns Hopkins University, Capital One Financial Corporation, Dominion Resources, MedImmune, S&R Foundation, WGL Holdings, Inc. and Washington Gas, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, Under Armour, The Carlyle Group, McKinsey & Company, MedStar Health, T. Rowe Price, Rally Health, and EY. The Partnership will focus on the high impact drivers of the region’s economic growth including:
“Our region, from Baltimore to Richmond, has all the building blocks for success – great universities, thriving industry, iconic spaces, sports and culture,” said Ted Leonsis, Founder, Chairman, Majority Owner & CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Vice Chairman of the Greater Washington Partnership. “We can be a model for super city-regions around the world by recognizing our region’s connectedness and making the smart decisions today that enable living and working here to be seamless.”
“Collaboration is essential to developing sustainable and regional economic solutions,” said Peter Scher, Chairman of the Washington, DC region for JPMorgan Chase and Vice Chairman of the Greater Washington Partnership. “Complex issues like infrastructure, workforce development and our region’s global identity cannot be solved by government or the nonprofit community alone. We believe business leaders in the region have a responsibility to their companies, employees and communities to invest in solutions that drive growth and create greater economic opportunity.”
Recent efforts, including the Washington 2024 Olympic bid, affirm both the need and an appetite for a more coordinated, regional approach to capturing economic opportunities. In its evaluation of regional economic performance, the Greater Washington Partnership found that several issues are impacting the region’s long-term competitiveness including:
“As the nation’s leading region for university research and development, it is critical for our region’s leaders to foster further collaboration to drive entrepreneurship,” said Ronald J. Daniels, President of the Johns Hopkins University. “The partnership will connect the impressive assets in the region to attract and retain top talent, promote regional economic development and support the communities where we live and work.”
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Please take a moment to Google this article to see how this problem with receiving goods and services grows especially as global Wall Street states BRICK AND MORTAR stores take too much profit. The amount of taxpayer revenue now being devoted to these protections---of patents, of products, of corporate profits is ALL OF WHAT USED TO BE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.
May
2016
Andrea Stroppa
,
head of research
Daniele di Stefano
,
head of engineering
Bernardo Parrella
,
editor
Social media and luxury goods counterfeit: a growing concern for government, industry
and consumers worldwide
Summary
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Introduction
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Fake luxury items proliferating online
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Global counter
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strategies...going nowhere?
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Bots and AI as tools for online illicit trade
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In search of ‘legitimate’ sellers of counterfeit goods
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Key stats and features of fake accounts
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Profile keywords and posting techniques
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17
8.
IM apps as top communication tools
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21
9.
Instagram spam
-
bot activities
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25
10.
Fraud and counterfeit activities on the web
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26
11.
Top countries involved
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..
31
12.
Top counterfeit brands
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................................
..
32
13
.
Illicit
account activities
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..
34
14.
Interesting data about botnets
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40
15.
Illicit posts and hashtag search
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42
16.
The need for advanced detection systems
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...
45
17.
A difficult law
-
enforcement issue for Instagram
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46
18.
Conclusion
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49
CONCLUSION:
Even with such level of complexity, this business structure reveals its weak spots. Of course, there is no way to
prevent the on-going production and sales of counterfeit goods, particularly within certain countries. A possible
solution is instead trying to intervene at the level of the local amplifiers, that is, social media platform and IM apps.
These entities should develop adequate technical filters, deploy human resources and provide better management.
Cyber-cops and smart policing are also needed. Users should be more aware and be careful in avoiding such scams.
In other words, we must set up a coordinated, global strategy including all various stakeholders.
Based on data and information explained above, this strategy should focus on some crucial key-points: developing
and applying specific detection technologies (including the promising blockchain options), based on a working
group similar to Facebook’s ThreatExchange; direct involvement of and open info-sharing among producers,
authorities, hi-tech companies, consumer associations and other pertinent organizations (maybe through an
international communication center); entrust think-tanks and experts to come up with ad hoc policies and broader
initiatives for the long term; introduce new ways to verify legitimate e
-commerce individuals and companies;
promote a broader user awareness on this issue with public campaigns and other initiatives, both online
and on the ground.
In conducting our research, we met with representatives of major fashion companies: they were very angry and
frustrated about this unstoppable trend of online counterfeiting and its related damages. We talked with different
organizations and even with some doctors: they have pointed out that the lack of control and bad quality of
cosmetics and other products is quite harmful to our health. Not to mention an overall loss of income for businesses
and taxes to state coffers, a general loss of jobs and long
-term problems for several industries –coupled with other
indirect damages to our societies, well beyond the internet
-sphere.
In studying this phenomenon, we managed to
highlight some new strategies of today’s online counterfeit world. We believe that these data can actually help
institutions and companies to implement a smarter operative model to prevent such trafficking, or at lest to
considerably curtail it. We cannot forget that, in many instances, this illegal market is a driving force for organized
crime, exploitation of children, and even financing of terrorism. As for other global challenges that are facing us,
this new surge of online counterfeit activity requires a comprehensive strategy and a cross-sector collaboration.
Sooner rather than later
_______________________________________
If you think these few decades of Robber Baron pols moving tens of trillions of American wealth to the top took LYING, CHEATING, STEALING---NO MORALS, NO ETHICS, NO RULE OF LAW---- SMOOTH OPERATORS------wait until our US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones fill with the global rich and their global labor pool from developing nations steeped in corruption and fraud. What do you want to be little Johnny and Sallie when you grow up?
A SMOOTH OPERATOR!
Sade - Smooth Operator (Official Video)
Sade's official music video for 'Smooth Operator'. Click to listen to Sade on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/SadeSpotifyA?IQid=SadeSO As featured on The…
youtube.com
BUYER BEWAREBirkenstock says Amazon is rife with counterfeits: How to avoid getting suckered into buying them
The real deal. (Reuters/Ina Fassbender)
Share
Written by
Marc Bain
Obsession
Fashion
July 23, 2016Amazon has reportedly been battling a rising tide of fakes this year, ever since the company opened the door for Chinese manufacturers to sell directly to US consumers on its site.
The problem has become severe enough that Birkenstock, the iconic German sandal maker currently enjoying a surge in popularity, is pulling its products from Amazon, according to a memo obtained by CNBC from Birkenstock USA’s CEO. Evidently the company felt the fake sandals on the site, which sell for about $20 less than the real product, were hurting its brand, and it will tell shoppers that Birkenstock products on Amazon can’t be trusted to be authentic. (We’ve reached out to Birkenstock and Amazon for comment and will update this post with any new information.)
But Birkenstock is just one of countless companies whose products are on the site, and far from the only one targeted by counterfeiters. While Amazon doesn’t suffer from the same ubiquity of counterfeits as the Chinese online marketplace Taobao, shoppers should nonetheless be wary of what they’re purchasing.
To know what to look out for, Quartz spoke with Stuart Fuller, director of commercial operations and communications at NetNames, a global brand protection firm. The company works with clients including Adidas, Hermés, Calvin Klein, GoPro, Microsoft, and others to identify when their brands are being counterfeited online and to get the products removed as quickly as possible.
Fuller says just about every brand is vulnerable to counterfeiting, but popular categories include footwear, clothing and accessories, and electronics. The bad news is that it can be near impossible to know for certain if something is fake based on its Amazon listing. The best you can do is figure out if something seems suspicious, and even then it could be authentic. Still, there are red flags to watch for, and they’re useful for avoiding counterfeits on other marketplaces, too.
Figure out who the seller isThe first page of results you get in an Amazon search shows the brand of an item, but not necessarily the seller. For that information, you have to go to the product page.
The seller’s name may appear in different places, such as somewhere beneath the price or in a bulleted product description slightly further down. For clothing and footwear, you often need to select a size before that information appears.
See where it says how many are left in stock? The seller is listed just beneath. (Screengrab from Amazon.com)The most trustworthy products are the ones that Amazon or the product manufacturer are selling directly, but many of the products for sale on Amazon’s marketplace are from third-party retailers. (A recent report by the digital research firm L2 found that 81% of the product listings for the 29 fashion brands it tracked were from third parties.)
Many legitimate retailers use Amazon to clear their excess inventory, so a third-party seller doesn’t necessarily mean the product is fake. It does mean, however, that you should take a closer look, especially if it’s a great deal.
If it’s a third-party seller, do your researchAmazon commingles its own inventory with that of third parties in its warehouses, so just because Amazon itself ships a third-party item doesn’t mean it’s definitely authentic. Fakes have been found (paywall) mixed with Amazon’s own warehouse inventory.
It’s no wonder fakes can slip into the inventory at Amazon’s warehouses. (Reuters/Dylan Martinez)That means it’s worth checking the seller’s Amazon profile, even if Amazon is shipping the product. The seller’s name on the product page will often be hyperlinked so you can see their reviews easily.
If you’re still uncertain, search their name online. You could find that it’s a legitimate retail shop. You may also find a seller by the same name on other online marketplaces. Fuller says it can be worth checking Amazon’s other sites, such as amazon.co.uk or amazon.de, to see if the seller is present there.
In every case, look at what other customers have said. It’s often the best—or only—source of feedback you have.
Bad reviews are trouble, but so are exceptionally good onesAny review complaining of a fake product is obviously a warning sign.
But it’s also concerning if the reviews are uniformly positive. In the normal course of things, “there will nearly always be one or two issues where people don’t give a 5-star rating, because people don’t like giving a 5-star rating,” Fuller explains. Lots of good reviews aren’t a problem, but reviews that exclusively positive and effusive in their praise suggest the reviews themselves could be fake.
It’s a common enough problem that there are guides to spotting fake reviews on Amazon, and Amazon has even sued sellers over the practice.
And if the reviews are fake, you should probably be suspicious of the product as well.
Check if the product photos are originalIt’s good practice to examine product photos for signs that an item is fake. Online guides also exist for what to look for in certain items, such as Persol sunglasses, to determine authenticity. But as in online dating, images can be deceptive. “Obviously images can be copied from elsewhere,” Fuller says.
One trick he recommends is to download one or more of the images for the product you’re unsure about, and then use Google’s reverse image search, which looks for instances of an image online and others that are visually similar. The results can reveal whether the photos were taken from another site.
If they were, it doesn’t necessarily mean the product is counterfeit. The seller may have used an image to list the product without having to take their own photos. It’s not a great practice, but it can happen.
The safest route in that case is to contact the seller and ask for more information or original photos if possible. Amazon has a button to contact a seller on their profile page, and sometimes sellers will list their direct contact information as well. If they won’t provide their own photos, you may be better off looking for the item elsewhere.
If it’s too good to be true…“My favorite saying is: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is,” Fuller says. He cautions that we always need to be a little wary when shopping a big marketplace such as Amazon, which simply can’t police every single listing.
“If you look at, for example, the Birkenstock case, where people are selling items for 20% less than retail, I would be wary of that,” he says. “If it was being supplied directly by Amazon, they could be potentially doing a special offer. But if it was a private seller, and they were selling in quantity, that would be a concern for me.”
Most third parties on Amazon aren’t selling in bulk, which makes it tougher to spot counterfeits. It’s immediately fishy when a vendor on a site such as Taobao is offering, say, 500 pairs of Nikes far below retail price. Because of how the Amazon marketplace works, however, it’s less clear if the seller is just a normal retailer moving most items one at a time.
Inspect your purchaseDespite your best efforts before buying, there is no guarantee you’ll catch a fake. “If an individual seller is listing something, unless there is any type of test purchase or any type of genuine visuals of the item, it’s actually quite difficult to determine,” Fuller says.
The only surefire way to know is to examine the item itself. It’s the first thing you should do when receiving a product from an unfamiliar seller, particularly if the product was shipped from a country where counterfeits are common. Those are typically poorer countries with lots of low-cost manufacturing. A video on YouTube, for instance, describes Apple earbuds bought off Amazon that arrived from China and turned out to be fake.
Even up close, fakes can be hard to distinguish from the real thing. People frequently post videos on YouTube comparing what they say are real products and very convincing fakes.
Still, counterfeits are rarely made as well as the authentic product, so if an item doesn’t meet the standards of the manufacturer’s other products, you should be suspicious. Check the tags on the item too. Typos, misspellings, and poor printing are warning signs of a possible fake.
You should also look at the packaging. New products should come in the manufacturer’s packaging, and include whatever manuals or other printed materials you would normally expect with the product. Though they can be faked, too. Typos, misspellings, and misprints are signs to watch for.
If you do find that you’ve purchased a counterfeit item, contact the seller and Amazon immediately. And don’t keep it to yourself. Fakes hurt shoppers, the brands they knock off, and Amazon. User reviews—real ones—are vital to keeping a marketplace healthy.
THIS IS WHAT OBAMA AND CLINTON NEO-LIBERALS SPENT THESE SEVERAL YEARS CREATING---THAT IS MIKULSKI, SARBANES, CUMMINGS, AND CARDIN IN BALTIMORE AS WITH ALL CONGRESSIONAL POLS.
Now we hear of all these KNOCK-OFFS OF BRAND NAMES-----here we are told China is tops in counterfeiting. No what? Global Wall Street is tied to plenty of Chinese corporations and they can flood any market with any brand knock off to kill any new INNOVATION NOT TIED TO GLOBAL WALL STREET 1% AND THEIR 2%.
An anonymous reader writes
"Here is an article by Dr.Joe Stiglitz on how intellectual property reinforces inequality by allowing patent owners to seek rent (aka license / sue) instead of delivering goods to the society. From the article: 'At first glance, the case, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, might seem like scientific arcana: the court ruled, unanimously, that human genes cannot be patented, though synthetic DNA, created in the laboratory, can be. But the real stakes were much higher, and the issues much more fundamental, than is commonly understood. The case was a battle between those who would privatize good health, making it a privilege to be enjoyed in proportion to wealth, and those who see it as a right for all — and a central component of a fair society and well-functioning economy. Even more deeply, it was about the way inequality is shaping our politics, legal institutions and the health of our population'.'"
Our national media let's us know our US PORTS OF ENTRY----Customs are filled with inspectors looking for trade counterfeiting----know who is protecting WE THE PEOPLE----NO ONE. All justice agencies are tied to protecting global corporations and this patent-counterfeiting will take trillions of dollars to protect.
One thing the SNOWDEN whistle-blowing showed WE THE PEOPLE was it is the US using NSA surveillance and spying that is behind MOST INDUSTRIAL corruption and indeed they will be the ones behind industrial brand counterfeiting targeted attacks. No doubt other nations will be doing so as well------the problem for Americans----open borders as Foreign Economic Zone ONE WORLD ONE GOVERNANCE-----floods our US Ports of Entry with just this capability-----we don't want protectionism but we do not want a complete loss of the American people to create and sell ANYTHING.
China Dunks on Michael Jordan
By Jennifer Kovalcik on August 12, 2015 Posted in Trademarks
Michael Jordan has one of the best trademark brands in basketball and is by all accounts a worldwide legend. But, that didn’t help him prevent a Chinese company from registering multiple trademarks using a similar name and silhouette of a player on athletic shoes.
The Chinese company operates as Qiaodan Sports Co, where Qiaodan is a Mandarin version of Jordan and the name by which Michael Jordan is known in China. In addition to using the “Jump Man” silhouette, the company also uses Jordan’s jersey number – 23.
Michael Jordan asked the Beijing court to cancel Qiaodan Sports’ trademark registration but after several years of legal battles and multiple proceedings, he again lost. Jordan seems poised to appeal.
Knockoffs and imitators are prevalent in China. As more and more businesses operate on a global stage, there are two important trademark lessons that you can learn from Jordan’s epic battle with Qiaodan Sports Co.
- Register your trademark in other countries in which you do business.
Note, however, that a registration in mainland China might not be enough for your protection. Additional filings and registrations are recommended for separate countries and administrative provinces such as Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
If you file a U.S. trademark application, then you have a priority window of six months to file additional trademark applications in other countries under your U.S. filing date. This prevents a pirate from watching U.S. trademark filings (which they do), and beating you to the punch by immediately filing a foreign trademark application for the same mark.
- Record your trademark with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
In 2014, Customs had 436 seizures of shipments resulting in $2.6 Million (MSRP) just in major sports league apparel according to the department’s statistical report. For all industries, there were nearly 25,000 seizures of over $1.2 Billion in merchandise.
If Jordan (or Nike) recorded their U.S. Trademark Registrations with Customs, which I have to assume they did, they will have some protection to try to get Customs to stop the Qiaodan shoes advertised by AliExpress from being shipped into the United States, notwithstanding Jordan’s ongoing legal efforts in China.
For all you Jordan fans out there, check out this montage of Top 10 Slam Dunks. At only 5’3’’, I have no vertical leap, so am constantly amazed at how this man flies!
_____________________________________
This is what a developing nation COSMOPOLITAN city looks like----tons of counterfeiting, illegal products, stolen products arriving through massive global ports AS PORT OF BALTIMORE HAS BEEN MADE THESE FEW DECADES. While national media focuses on the global corporate brand names tied to handbags, shoes, jewelry etc------it is our local crafts people who ultimately end up not being able to compete with everyday KNOCK-OFFS. From local crafts people making furniture, food products, textiles-----when these illegal port entries hit our community markets AND THEY ALWAYS DO----WE THE PEOPLE cannot even sell our own crafts.
You can bet it will be the Guccis and the UGGS that this growing global security force works to protect.
"Most people don’t think twice about the Nike sneakers, Coach handbags, Gucci shoes and Cartier watches sold on the streets, in stores and over the Internet that aren’t what they appear to be," said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. But he said supporting the counterfeit market cheats U.S. companies and employees'
US national media reporting on this explosion of counterfeiting and illegal products during our BLACK FRIDAY AND HOLIDAY SHOPPING says-----customs will burn/destroy all those counterfeit shoes, clothes, furniture. Now globally we have global CRIMINAL CARTELS ENSLAVING GLOBAL LABOR POOL TO FACTORIES PRODUCING KNOCK-OFFS while our global corporations enslave global labor pool in global factories producing brand names. All of this is happening because of global market expansion and Foreign Economic Zone development.
International smuggling ring used Baltimore as entry to U.S., authorities say
An international counterfeiting ring smuggled tens of millions of dollars worth of fake Coach handbags, Nike sneakers, Gucci shoes and Cartier watches into the United States though the Port of Baltimore, federal authorities charged Friday in announcing the indictment of the ring's members.
In the culmination of a two-year undercover investigation, a federal grand jury in Baltimore indicted nine people in a scheme to bring the bogus goods, made in Malaysia and China, into the country.
In a related investigation, London police nabbed six suspects Thursday and collected fake Versace, Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Nike clothes, shoes and other items, in what officials said is among the largest seizures ever of counterfeit goods in England.
“This was not a mom-and-pop organization,” said John Morton, a U.S. Immigration and Customs assistant secretary, at a news conference. “This was organized crime on a grand scale. Millions were made by crooks, millions were lost by legitimate U.S. companies.”
Authorities said the ring planned to expand to counterfeit drugs next, and in September, one of the defendants sent a sample of counterfeit Viagra to a business in Maryland in hopes of finding a market.
The Maryland business, which purported to import and export products without paying taxes and customs duties, was actually part of the government’s undercover operation.
Three New Yorkers were indicted: Josephine O. Zhou, 32; Kin Yip Ng, 43, and Yenn-Kun Hsieh, 45.
Also indicted were Wai Hong Yong, 43, and Eng Cheng Kee, 40, of Malaysia; and Hexing Yang, 38, Chan Hong Xu, 40, Lidan Zhang, 39, and Kai T. Jaing, 25, all of China.
Yong, Kee and Yang were arrested in Guam, while other defendants were picked up in Maryland, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina. Xu is still at large.
Officials won’t say how they first got wind of the ring.
But when a container filled with 10,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike sneakers entered the Baltimore port in May 2008, undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who had infiltrated the ring were there to receive it, according to court papers.
The next month, the undercover officers delivered the sneakers to defendants in Brooklyn and were paid a $25,000 smuggling fee in cash.
The shipping containers kept coming, court papers say. First, thousands more Nike sneakers. Then, in January 2009, a container arrived with 25,000 fake Coach bags. That April, about 10,000 pairs of bogus Coach and Gucci shoes arrived.
In total, the ring smuggled in 500,000 fake Coach bags, 120,00 pairs of counterfeit Nike shoes, 10,000 pairs of bogus Gucci and Coach shoes and 500 counterfeit Cartier watches, the indictment alleges.
The undercover officers were paid a smuggling fee for the deliveries. But they also were given tens of thousands of dollars of additional cash, and instructions to wire that money to accounts in Malaysia or a company in Asia. That cash was “laundered” through the undercover business, authorities said.
The fake items were headed to New York or New Jersey, where they would make their way onto the streets, into stores or to Internet sales sites.
"Most people don’t think twice about the Nike sneakers, Coach handbags, Gucci shoes and Cartier watches sold on the streets, in stores and over the Internet that aren’t what they appear to be," said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. But he said supporting the counterfeit market cheats U.S. companies and employees.
The defendants face charges including conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States, trafficking in counterfeit goods and money laundering.
_________________________________________
As CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA create an insular economic system for just the global rich in US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones WE THE PEOPLE are being told to BE THAT INNOVATOR AND PRODUCT-MAKER -----bring back ARTISAN CRAFTS------we of course have a once strong art school MICA being developed to be a global corporate crafts shop where students toil away for free while that global Master Crafts-person pockets millions.
This is what will be coming soon to all US cities -------INTERNATIONAL BAZAARS where we are told it is left social democratic to allow crafts from around the world fill our farmer's markets. Now, we have in modern times had these global artisan stores---what is coming is a complete inability for any American crafts person to compete in this simple local crafts trade.
Here is the PHILLIPINES a long-time Foreign Economic Zone with their 1% and their 2% sending their citizens into the global labor pool like no other. This is NOT SOCIALLY PROGRESSIVE it deliberately keeps any local citizens from being able to build a business.
EACH OF THESE NATIONS ARE ONE WORLD FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES------MALAYSIA, CHILE, KOREA, NIGERIA with the Netherlands and Switzerland being European nations already in colonialism
'The Spouses of the Heads of Mission: SHOM president Martine Boon Von Ochssee (Netherlands) with MasitahBintiAlang Ahmad (Malaysia), SHOM president Paulina S. Mayorga (Chile), Won Wha Soon (Korea), Caecilia Legowo (Indonesia), Omolara Evelyn Farounbi (Nigeria), and Gracita Tolentino (Switzerland)'
One can easily see these INTERNATIONAL BAZAARS taking place on the UNDERARMOUR COVE POINT GLOBAL RESORT CAMPUS. These events have always been part of our US cosmopolitan cities like NYC, LA, etc---when we make all of our US mid-size cities into these same global cosmopolitan cities there is no way for locals to compete.
Shop global, help local at the International Bazaar
(The Philippine Star) | Updated November 10, 2013 - 12:00am
The Spouses of the Heads of Mission:
SHOM president Martine Boon Von Ochssee (Netherlands) with MasitahBintiAlang Ahmad (Malaysia), SHOM president Paulina S. Mayorga (Chile), Won Wha Soon (Korea), Caecilia Legowo (Indonesia), Omolara Evelyn Farounbi (Nigeria), and Gracita Tolentino (Switzerland)MANILA, Philippines - The International Bazaar Foundation Inc. (IBF), the Ladies of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Spouses of Heads of Mission (SHOM), and members of the diplomatic and consular corps will hold the International Bazaar on Nov. 17, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the PICC Forums I, II and III, CCP Complex, Pasay City.
The annual bazaar features unique and authentic products from different countries around the world.
There will be 35 embassies and six consulates showcasing the best of their local wares. Over 100 booths will also sell Filipino products. Guests can also sample traditional dishes from the featured countries.
Proceeds of the one-day event will be donated to the IBF, which will then use them for various projects such as scholarship grants to deserving students from indigent families, financial support for the elderly, abused and abandoned children as well as victims of calamities.
Apart from the International Bazaar’s array of goods, guests will have a chance to win the latest Hyundai Accent car courtesy of HARI Foundation Inc. (Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc.) through its president and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo and IBF Inc. as the grand raffle prize.
There will also be airline tickets, kitchen appliances, hotel weekend packages and many more interesting prizes at stake when you buy a raffle ticket at P200.
IBF is headed by its chairperson Gretchen V. del Rosario, wife of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario. Other officers are Sylvia Farolan, president; Bambina Buenaventura, vice president; Rose Villamor, secretary; Alice Guerrero, treasurer; and Olivia Romulo, Margarita Tambunting, Marion Coscolluela, Consul General Fortune Ledesma, members of the Board of Trustees; Blessie Cabrera, special projects coordinator, Department of Foreign Affairs; and Nora Salazar, executive director.
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Tickets are available at P100, P200 for the raffle tickets at Tesoro’s outlets on Arnaiz Avenue, Makati City; and Mabini St., Ermita Manila. For inquiries, call 833-1320.
_____________________________________________
Here we see the pathway to patenting made almost impossible for a mid-size start up------global corporations were allowed to hit our US patent office with all kinds of patents from these few centuries of US patents and hold them for their own control. This covers a wide span of invention in the US including those inventions never brought to market. At the same time global corporations have the power to BLOCK smaller companies wanting to get a start-----Congress passed all these laws during Obama with a majority Clinton global Wall Street neo-liberal Congress. Think of our local crafts people trying to build a small business having to constantly compete with global counterfeit and illegal goods in local markets-----then think about this mid-size startup trying to patent and expand a business---then think about the global IVY LEAGUE hedge fund university R and D research facilities allowing only the global 1% and their 2% a pathway to patenting and gains from such.
We need to remember these same policies were installed in all Foreign Economic Zones overseas these several years by World Bank and IMF to do just this-----capture every aspect of growing market share and business to only that same global 1% and their 2%...coming now to US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones like Baltimore
Oct 4, 2013 @ 12:57 AM
For Most Small Companies Patents Are Just About Worthless
Todd Hixon ,
Contributor
I blog about entrepreneurs, their world, and the new, new thing.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Update (Oct 7, 2014): It looks like patents are often useless for big companies, too. See the linked article on the wasteful smart phone patent litigation.
A widespread meme in the tech community holds that patents are a path to riches: an entrepreneur who solves a key technical problem and receives a patent can build a business on the technology and ride to glory. Xerox XRX +0.93% and Polaroid are celebrated examples (both now nearly extinct). But, IMHO, for most small companies today, patents are just about worthless. Many entrepreneurs misunderstand the value patents create, and how difficult they are to enforce.
It's not that simple ...
A patent is a sword, not a shield. It gives you the right to attack a competitor who makes commercial use of ("infringes") your patented technology. Contrary to common belief, it does not give you the right to practice your technology free of interference.
Patents are often quite narrow and hence can be circumvented: they might apply to a specific design element or combination of characteristics. They have effect only in the jurisdiction of the patent-granting authority: effective world coverage requires six to ten patents in different geographies.
The patented intellectual property is usually not sufficient to deliver the product. Lots of other intellectual property is needed, too, and others often have patents on some of that.
And, frequently two issued patents arguably describe the same thing. I once encountered two electronic circuit design patents that were identical except for the way in which the components are laid out (which does not affect function). Each design had received a patent (and the same person at the patent office had awarded both patents).
A murky situation often results. Let's say a new company ("TechCo) solves a key technical problem that enables new value for customers and launches a new business. But, TechCo will need to use a lot of other technology to build and deliver a complete product, e.g., the product design might be protected by a patent, but the manufacturing process might be subject to another company's "blocking" patent. And it won't always be clear how effective that blocking patent is: perhaps it's been issued, but arguably it’s vague or not original (grounds for invalidation), and until now the patent holder has not enforced it. Does TechCo have a problem? That’s a “definite maybe". The choice is to just go ahead and see, or seek a license, which could well be denied and will definitely get the patent holder's attention.
Enforcing your patent in the courts is a nightmare. Plan on 3-5 years and $3-$5 million to get to a judgment. And then there is the appeal ... Usually the stakes and time frame will be too much for a start-up. One of my portfolio companies sued a big company for infringement, and the judge has ruled that infringement occurred, but there are many legal maneuvers available, and the litigation clock and meter tick on in year four. We think the big company wants to make a statement: "let this be a lesson to small companies that have the temerity to sue us for infringement ..." Patent litigation is the true sport of kings.
It costs $20k-$30k to file a final (“utility”) patent. Some small companies make dozens of filings, spending a good fraction of a million dollars. When might this investment pay off?
There are situations where patents pay off. Drugs are a good example. Drugs are based on unique molecules that sell mainly on technical merits: efficacy, side effects, etc. Once this data is in, most successful drug start-ups are bought by a big drug company that has sales and manufacturing capability and lots of lawyers. The patent is indeed the lynchpin of value.
In the information technology world, patents have the most value in the hands of big companies, as part of patent “portfolios” so large that any competitor is bound to infringe some of them. They use this weapon to attack competitors (usually smaller ones) that lack patent portfolios: e.g., the lawsuits against Google GOOG +0.28%’s Android operating system. To defend itself, Google acquired Motorola, which owned a large relevant patent portfolio. Now Google can counter-sue. The usual result among the big companies is a stand-off, reciprocal licensing, or a patent pool wherein the major competitors share their patents, and new entrants are out in the cold. Five of the top global producers of light emitting diodes, for example, have established a formidable patent pool.
So it’s true that patents will be worth something when a company is acquired, but in my experience the value here is often not large. E.g., a company that had about 100 patents, some of them significant, was sold recently. The offers received indicate that the value of the patents alone was on the order of $10 million: under $100,000 per patent, which pays for the lawyers but very little of the R&D.
Ironically, patents can have more value to “patent trolls” than to small operating companies. Patent trolls buy up patents and use them to extract royalties from operating companies that have infringed them. They don’t sell any products, so they are not vulnerable to counter-suits. Patent trolls have had some notable successes, e.g., the $800m settlement RIM paid in its heyday.
My suggestions for a small technology companies*:
- Don’t base your business strategy on patents. And don’t try to raise money primarily on the basis of patents; most likely this will fail and you will appear naïve.
- It’s worthwhile to file patents for your key inventions in the U.S. (what patent-savvy universities do), but don’t go much beyond that.
- Pay close attention to patents that others hold which might enable competitors to block you. In my experience “freedom to operate” is more important when evaluating a business plan than patent ownership.
- It will rarely make sense for a small company to sue a big company for patent infringement. The lawyers will probably be the winners.
- Non-patent intellectual property strategies can hold off copycats effectively. Trade secrets (parts of the product or production technology that are hard for competitors to replicate), knowledge of customers, and superior rate of innovation work best.
- Build your business on real competitive advantages: product value-in-use, customer relationships, rapid innovation. Don’t count on patents to defend you from your competitors.
________________________________________
Foreign Economic Zones these several decades of REAGAN/CLINTON created a human capital distribution system designed by global Wall Street with Johns Hopkins being tops in this industry. What happens when one or more nations begin these slave trades----more and more nations find people willing to sell, trade, capture, and enslave as indeed exists today. So, a criminal cartel like global Wall Street hires global criminal cartels to find people to bring to Foreign Economic Zones. Then those criminal cartels get the idea WE WILL BUILD OUR OWN GLOBAL FACTORIES TO ENSLAVE PEOPLE making KNOCK OFFS, local crafts, etc that then fill the global PORTS of ENTRY. More, women and children have been enslaved by CLINTON.BUSH/OBAMA then all the slave trades of colonial Americas----giving each other awards for being civil rights, women rights, labor rights leaders.
The point for US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones is this: those thinking global corporate campuses create jobs----are not thinking beyond today. They not only kill any ability to have a decent job---they kill any attempts to create any businesses outside of this global economy.
ALL WALL STREET BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT 'LABOR AND JUSTICE' PLAYERS KNOW THIS.
See why there are so many wars around Africa----this decade super-sized Foreign Economic Zone development in Africa---under Obama
East Africa: Eritrean Regime - Enslaving Its Own Citizens
By Zeray Hailemariam
For the last decades the tiny country called Eritrea earned the reputation of political instability and terrorism exporter into the Horn of Africa. Isayas Afworqi of Eritrea was regarded as brutal dictator. The senior officials of Eritrea have been accused of countless crimes against humanity both at their home and outside.
The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions twice on Eritrean officials for their belligerence of supporting terrorists and terrorism in Somalia and for their refusal to withdraw from the territory of Djibouti. It is to be recalled that the UN Human Rights Commission established an independent inquiry body to report back on the serious human rights violation being committed in Eritrea. It released its report last June which exposed summer of executions, death, genocidal against specific ethnic groups, raping against under-age girls, slavery, detentions over the last 20 years.
The report concluded that genocidal acts are in the making and suggested more investigation should be conducted. The inquiry commission is also conducting its investigation which are expected to make its final findings public next June of this year. Scholars made it abundantly clear that the officials of Eritrea will be brought into international courts if found guilty of the top human crime.
Following these, the regional organisation, IGAD, came up with another report exposing the involvement of senior officials of the Eritrean regime in human trafficking and smuggling activities through established international criminal networks.
The 39-page report entitled, "Human Smuggling and Trafficking on the Horn of Africa-Central Mediterranean Route" was made public February 19, 2016 during a consultation meeting organized by the new ISSP office, which was opened in Addis Ababa.
The Security Sector Programme (ISSP) of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has recently released a report finding exposing the involvement of Eritrean higher authorities in human trafficking and smuggling activities inside Eritrea and outside. The report conducted in collaboration with SAHAN Pathfinders in Policy and Practice based in Kenya has detailed on how human trafficking and smuggling activities are being conducted in the Horn of Africa.
The new report is summarized and presented to the Addis Ababa-based diplomats and the press by Matt Bryden, chairman of SAHAN. The report describes the illegal activities that are taking place from the Horn of Africa via Libya to Europe as a "dangerous and organized illicit trade" which has claiming thousands of innocent lives particularly from Eritrea. All Eritrean migrants fleeing the forced conscription of the regime in Asmara have been reportedly slaughtered, killed, dead on their way to Europe via Sudan, Egypt or Libya.
The IGAD report exposed that Eritrean senior officials typically arrange for transportation to Sudan or Ethiopia without any immigration procedures, adding some prominent Eritrean human smugglers appear to rely upon the services of Eritrean diplomats abroad.
Accordingly, human trafficking between the Horn of Africa and Europe is run by a 'sophisticated and integrated international networks that derive massive profits from the mass movement of thousands of migrants and refugees.' The principal smugglers and trafficking kingpins who dominate the central Mediterranean Route are predominantly Eritrean in nationality who reportedly collaborate with military generals, security officials.
The study claimed that there are two groups of migrants from Eritrea; those who fled Eritrea on their own and those who claim to have been assisted. Those travellers said that they have contacted facilitators in and outside Eritrea for a safe passage out of the country.
Some migrants are also reported to have obtained Eritrean ID cards and passports at the Eritrean embassy in Khartoum. The report identifies some of the key Eritrean nationals involved in smuggling and trafficking. Among them is an Eritrean individual known as John Habtu a.k.a. Obama, Jemal Saudi, Maesho Tesfamariam, Medhane Yehdego, Ermias Girmay, Wedi Isaq, Futsum, Awet Kidane and Habtom Merhay, who is indicted in the US in 2010 and pleaded guilty to having smuggled several "first-class" migrants from Eritrea. The other smuggler is a man by the name Efrem Misgna, who according the report has been arrested in Italy, usually serves as an escort for Eritrean government and party officials when they visit Europe. Efrem is seen escorting Yemane Gebrab in Sweden, senior government official, during the latter's visit to Stockholm in 2012.
"Human trafficking is an issue related to security that demands concerted efforts from members of the IGAD region and the international community" Commander Abebe Muluneh, Director of ISSP, who chaired the meeting, said.
It was also reported that migrants risk abandonment in the desert, kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs and abduction or execution by militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS). The attendees expressed the urgency and need for international collaboration to respond to the problem. Some even demanded the Security Council to pass a resolution against the officials and criminals involved in the smuggling.
This new report indicated that - in the same year - 154,000 migrants entered Europe which out of these 39,000 migrants are from Eritrea, which is the second smallest country in Africa.
Higher officials of the Isayas regime make the payments and providing passports to illegal migrants after receiving US dollars. They also provide military and security vehicles so that the migrants would not be checked in the checking points and borders which in return the migrants pay much US dollars.
For example, General Teklai Kifle aka 'Manjus' the commander of Eritrea's western zone, under arrest now, has been accused by previous UN investigation of collusion with Rashaida smuggling networks in eastern Sudan.
It has been reportedly said that most senior Eritrean have been collaborating with the human traffickers and smugglers to hasten hundreds of thousands people to flee. Unfortunately, most of them are vanished, killed, slaughtered and burnt on the way. Eritrea is the second largest refugee producing tiny nation next to the war-torn Syria in the world. It is said that one quarter of the refugees over flooding Europe comes from Eritrea. Several Eritreans have left their country with the help of human smugglers and senior officials.
The international community, EU, USA, AU and most importantly the UN Human Rights Commission and UNSC should take serious measures against the very regime which is playing an destructive role in in the Horn of Africa and enslaving its own citizens.
___________________________________________
The CARLYLE GROUP IS THE LARGEST GLOBAL HEDGE FUND----IT IS BUSH/CLINTON AND WHERE MUCH OF THAT TENS OF TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN WALL STREET FRAUD ENDED----here we see the global corporations now thinking they are central in building a Foreign Economic Zone---the same corporations that killed our US cities like Baltimore. These are the executive 5% to the 1% who could care less about life, liberty, justice----JUST SHOW THEM THE MONEY
'The Founding Board of the organization includes the CEOs and leaders of Ramsey Asset Management, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Johns Hopkins University, Capital One Financial Corporation, Dominion Resources, MedImmune, S&R Foundation, WGL Holdings, Inc. and Washington Gas, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, Under Armour, The Carlyle Group, McKinsey & Company, MedStar Health, T. Rowe Price, Rally Health, and EY. The Partnership will focus on the high impact drivers of the region’s economic growth including':
The #1 economic problem for Baltimore City has been these few decades of all Federal, state, and local revenue and funding being diverted to Wall Street Baltimore Development and Johns Hopkins which made most of the above the global corporations and hedge funds they are today. Just getting rid of Wall Street Baltimore Development would allow Baltimore communities to rebuild their local economies and MOVE BACK TO BEING AN AMERICAN CITY WITH A STRONG, STABLE ECONOMY.
Greater Washington Partnership to Spur Regional Economic Growth
Business WireDecember 14, 2016WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
A group of leading CEOs and entrepreneurs today announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration for the Greater Washington region—from Baltimore to Richmond—to address the critical economic issues facing the region and ensure it remains one of the world’s best places to live, work and build a business. The new Greater Washington Partnership (Partnership) will advance inclusive, actionable solutions that strengthen the regional economy and position Greater Washington as a leading global region and center for commerce and innovation.
The Partnership brings together civic-minded business leaders who share a commitment to the future of Greater Washington. It draws from a cross-sector of leading industries including health care, life sciences, energy, manufacturing, professional services, education, sports & entertainment and financial services.
The Founding Board of the organization includes the CEOs and leaders of Ramsey Asset Management, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Johns Hopkins University, Capital One Financial Corporation, Dominion Resources, MedImmune, S&R Foundation, WGL Holdings, Inc. and Washington Gas, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, Under Armour, The Carlyle Group, McKinsey & Company, MedStar Health, T. Rowe Price, Rally Health, and EY. The Partnership will focus on the high impact drivers of the region’s economic growth including:
- Advancing infrastructure solutions that strengthen regional mobility and improve quality of life;
- Educating and training individuals for the jobs that employers need to fill now and in the future;
- Increasing recognition of Greater Washington, from Baltimore to Richmond, as a vibrant hub for business and innovation; and
- Building long-term leadership positions in high-growth industry sectors.
“Our region, from Baltimore to Richmond, has all the building blocks for success – great universities, thriving industry, iconic spaces, sports and culture,” said Ted Leonsis, Founder, Chairman, Majority Owner & CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Vice Chairman of the Greater Washington Partnership. “We can be a model for super city-regions around the world by recognizing our region’s connectedness and making the smart decisions today that enable living and working here to be seamless.”
“Collaboration is essential to developing sustainable and regional economic solutions,” said Peter Scher, Chairman of the Washington, DC region for JPMorgan Chase and Vice Chairman of the Greater Washington Partnership. “Complex issues like infrastructure, workforce development and our region’s global identity cannot be solved by government or the nonprofit community alone. We believe business leaders in the region have a responsibility to their companies, employees and communities to invest in solutions that drive growth and create greater economic opportunity.”
Recent efforts, including the Washington 2024 Olympic bid, affirm both the need and an appetite for a more coordinated, regional approach to capturing economic opportunities. In its evaluation of regional economic performance, the Greater Washington Partnership found that several issues are impacting the region’s long-term competitiveness including:
- High reliance on the government for economic activity;
- Lower exports and foreign investment compared to peer regions;
- Insufficient infrastructure investment;
- Skills gap between job seekers and the needs of employers;
- Local entrepreneurs leaving for other parts of the country; and
- Intensifying competition from regions around the world for jobs, investment and talent.
“As the nation’s leading region for university research and development, it is critical for our region’s leaders to foster further collaboration to drive entrepreneurship,” said Ronald J. Daniels, President of the Johns Hopkins University. “The partnership will connect the impressive assets in the region to attract and retain top talent, promote regional economic development and support the communities where we live and work.”
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Please take a moment to Google this article to see how this problem with receiving goods and services grows especially as global Wall Street states BRICK AND MORTAR stores take too much profit. The amount of taxpayer revenue now being devoted to these protections---of patents, of products, of corporate profits is ALL OF WHAT USED TO BE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.
May
2016
Andrea Stroppa
,
head of research
Daniele di Stefano
,
head of engineering
Bernardo Parrella
,
editor
Social media and luxury goods counterfeit: a growing concern for government, industry
and consumers worldwide
Summary
1.
Introduction
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3
2.
Fake luxury items proliferating online
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................................
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5
3.
Global counter
-
strategies...going nowhere?
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8
4.
Bots and AI as tools for online illicit trade
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.......
9
5.
In search of ‘legitimate’ sellers of counterfeit goods
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11
6.
Key stats and features of fake accounts
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15
7.
Profile keywords and posting techniques
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17
8.
IM apps as top communication tools
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21
9.
Instagram spam
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bot activities
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25
10.
Fraud and counterfeit activities on the web
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26
11.
Top countries involved
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..
31
12.
Top counterfeit brands
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32
13
.
Illicit
account activities
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..
34
14.
Interesting data about botnets
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40
15.
Illicit posts and hashtag search
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42
16.
The need for advanced detection systems
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...
45
17.
A difficult law
-
enforcement issue for Instagram
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46
18.
Conclusion
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49
CONCLUSION:
Even with such level of complexity, this business structure reveals its weak spots. Of course, there is no way to
prevent the on-going production and sales of counterfeit goods, particularly within certain countries. A possible
solution is instead trying to intervene at the level of the local amplifiers, that is, social media platform and IM apps.
These entities should develop adequate technical filters, deploy human resources and provide better management.
Cyber-cops and smart policing are also needed. Users should be more aware and be careful in avoiding such scams.
In other words, we must set up a coordinated, global strategy including all various stakeholders.
Based on data and information explained above, this strategy should focus on some crucial key-points: developing
and applying specific detection technologies (including the promising blockchain options), based on a working
group similar to Facebook’s ThreatExchange; direct involvement of and open info-sharing among producers,
authorities, hi-tech companies, consumer associations and other pertinent organizations (maybe through an
international communication center); entrust think-tanks and experts to come up with ad hoc policies and broader
initiatives for the long term; introduce new ways to verify legitimate e
-commerce individuals and companies;
promote a broader user awareness on this issue with public campaigns and other initiatives, both online
and on the ground.
In conducting our research, we met with representatives of major fashion companies: they were very angry and
frustrated about this unstoppable trend of online counterfeiting and its related damages. We talked with different
organizations and even with some doctors: they have pointed out that the lack of control and bad quality of
cosmetics and other products is quite harmful to our health. Not to mention an overall loss of income for businesses
and taxes to state coffers, a general loss of jobs and long
-term problems for several industries –coupled with other
indirect damages to our societies, well beyond the internet
-sphere.
In studying this phenomenon, we managed to
highlight some new strategies of today’s online counterfeit world. We believe that these data can actually help
institutions and companies to implement a smarter operative model to prevent such trafficking, or at lest to
considerably curtail it. We cannot forget that, in many instances, this illegal market is a driving force for organized
crime, exploitation of children, and even financing of terrorism. As for other global challenges that are facing us,
this new surge of online counterfeit activity requires a comprehensive strategy and a cross-sector collaboration.
Sooner rather than later
_______________________________________
If you think these few decades of Robber Baron pols moving tens of trillions of American wealth to the top took LYING, CHEATING, STEALING---NO MORALS, NO ETHICS, NO RULE OF LAW---- SMOOTH OPERATORS------wait until our US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones fill with the global rich and their global labor pool from developing nations steeped in corruption and fraud. What do you want to be little Johnny and Sallie when you grow up?
A SMOOTH OPERATOR!
Sade - Smooth Operator (Official Video)
Sade's official music video for 'Smooth Operator'. Click to listen to Sade on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/SadeSpotifyA?IQid=SadeSO As featured on The…
youtube.com
BUYER BEWAREBirkenstock says Amazon is rife with counterfeits: How to avoid getting suckered into buying them
The real deal. (Reuters/Ina Fassbender)
Share
Written by
Marc Bain
Obsession
Fashion
July 23, 2016Amazon has reportedly been battling a rising tide of fakes this year, ever since the company opened the door for Chinese manufacturers to sell directly to US consumers on its site.
The problem has become severe enough that Birkenstock, the iconic German sandal maker currently enjoying a surge in popularity, is pulling its products from Amazon, according to a memo obtained by CNBC from Birkenstock USA’s CEO. Evidently the company felt the fake sandals on the site, which sell for about $20 less than the real product, were hurting its brand, and it will tell shoppers that Birkenstock products on Amazon can’t be trusted to be authentic. (We’ve reached out to Birkenstock and Amazon for comment and will update this post with any new information.)
But Birkenstock is just one of countless companies whose products are on the site, and far from the only one targeted by counterfeiters. While Amazon doesn’t suffer from the same ubiquity of counterfeits as the Chinese online marketplace Taobao, shoppers should nonetheless be wary of what they’re purchasing.
To know what to look out for, Quartz spoke with Stuart Fuller, director of commercial operations and communications at NetNames, a global brand protection firm. The company works with clients including Adidas, Hermés, Calvin Klein, GoPro, Microsoft, and others to identify when their brands are being counterfeited online and to get the products removed as quickly as possible.
Fuller says just about every brand is vulnerable to counterfeiting, but popular categories include footwear, clothing and accessories, and electronics. The bad news is that it can be near impossible to know for certain if something is fake based on its Amazon listing. The best you can do is figure out if something seems suspicious, and even then it could be authentic. Still, there are red flags to watch for, and they’re useful for avoiding counterfeits on other marketplaces, too.
Figure out who the seller isThe first page of results you get in an Amazon search shows the brand of an item, but not necessarily the seller. For that information, you have to go to the product page.
The seller’s name may appear in different places, such as somewhere beneath the price or in a bulleted product description slightly further down. For clothing and footwear, you often need to select a size before that information appears.
See where it says how many are left in stock? The seller is listed just beneath. (Screengrab from Amazon.com)The most trustworthy products are the ones that Amazon or the product manufacturer are selling directly, but many of the products for sale on Amazon’s marketplace are from third-party retailers. (A recent report by the digital research firm L2 found that 81% of the product listings for the 29 fashion brands it tracked were from third parties.)
Many legitimate retailers use Amazon to clear their excess inventory, so a third-party seller doesn’t necessarily mean the product is fake. It does mean, however, that you should take a closer look, especially if it’s a great deal.
If it’s a third-party seller, do your researchAmazon commingles its own inventory with that of third parties in its warehouses, so just because Amazon itself ships a third-party item doesn’t mean it’s definitely authentic. Fakes have been found (paywall) mixed with Amazon’s own warehouse inventory.
It’s no wonder fakes can slip into the inventory at Amazon’s warehouses. (Reuters/Dylan Martinez)That means it’s worth checking the seller’s Amazon profile, even if Amazon is shipping the product. The seller’s name on the product page will often be hyperlinked so you can see their reviews easily.
If you’re still uncertain, search their name online. You could find that it’s a legitimate retail shop. You may also find a seller by the same name on other online marketplaces. Fuller says it can be worth checking Amazon’s other sites, such as amazon.co.uk or amazon.de, to see if the seller is present there.
In every case, look at what other customers have said. It’s often the best—or only—source of feedback you have.
Bad reviews are trouble, but so are exceptionally good onesAny review complaining of a fake product is obviously a warning sign.
But it’s also concerning if the reviews are uniformly positive. In the normal course of things, “there will nearly always be one or two issues where people don’t give a 5-star rating, because people don’t like giving a 5-star rating,” Fuller explains. Lots of good reviews aren’t a problem, but reviews that exclusively positive and effusive in their praise suggest the reviews themselves could be fake.
It’s a common enough problem that there are guides to spotting fake reviews on Amazon, and Amazon has even sued sellers over the practice.
And if the reviews are fake, you should probably be suspicious of the product as well.
Check if the product photos are originalIt’s good practice to examine product photos for signs that an item is fake. Online guides also exist for what to look for in certain items, such as Persol sunglasses, to determine authenticity. But as in online dating, images can be deceptive. “Obviously images can be copied from elsewhere,” Fuller says.
One trick he recommends is to download one or more of the images for the product you’re unsure about, and then use Google’s reverse image search, which looks for instances of an image online and others that are visually similar. The results can reveal whether the photos were taken from another site.
If they were, it doesn’t necessarily mean the product is counterfeit. The seller may have used an image to list the product without having to take their own photos. It’s not a great practice, but it can happen.
The safest route in that case is to contact the seller and ask for more information or original photos if possible. Amazon has a button to contact a seller on their profile page, and sometimes sellers will list their direct contact information as well. If they won’t provide their own photos, you may be better off looking for the item elsewhere.
If it’s too good to be true…“My favorite saying is: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is,” Fuller says. He cautions that we always need to be a little wary when shopping a big marketplace such as Amazon, which simply can’t police every single listing.
“If you look at, for example, the Birkenstock case, where people are selling items for 20% less than retail, I would be wary of that,” he says. “If it was being supplied directly by Amazon, they could be potentially doing a special offer. But if it was a private seller, and they were selling in quantity, that would be a concern for me.”
Most third parties on Amazon aren’t selling in bulk, which makes it tougher to spot counterfeits. It’s immediately fishy when a vendor on a site such as Taobao is offering, say, 500 pairs of Nikes far below retail price. Because of how the Amazon marketplace works, however, it’s less clear if the seller is just a normal retailer moving most items one at a time.
Inspect your purchaseDespite your best efforts before buying, there is no guarantee you’ll catch a fake. “If an individual seller is listing something, unless there is any type of test purchase or any type of genuine visuals of the item, it’s actually quite difficult to determine,” Fuller says.
The only surefire way to know is to examine the item itself. It’s the first thing you should do when receiving a product from an unfamiliar seller, particularly if the product was shipped from a country where counterfeits are common. Those are typically poorer countries with lots of low-cost manufacturing. A video on YouTube, for instance, describes Apple earbuds bought off Amazon that arrived from China and turned out to be fake.
Even up close, fakes can be hard to distinguish from the real thing. People frequently post videos on YouTube comparing what they say are real products and very convincing fakes.
Still, counterfeits are rarely made as well as the authentic product, so if an item doesn’t meet the standards of the manufacturer’s other products, you should be suspicious. Check the tags on the item too. Typos, misspellings, and poor printing are warning signs of a possible fake.
You should also look at the packaging. New products should come in the manufacturer’s packaging, and include whatever manuals or other printed materials you would normally expect with the product. Though they can be faked, too. Typos, misspellings, and misprints are signs to watch for.
If you do find that you’ve purchased a counterfeit item, contact the seller and Amazon immediately. And don’t keep it to yourself. Fakes hurt shoppers, the brands they knock off, and Amazon. User reviews—real ones—are vital to keeping a marketplace healthy.
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