|
 |
 |
CNNfn
December 23, 2003
Faking It: Selling Knock-Offs Is Illegal
MARY SNOW, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It may not look like your typical holiday shopping spot but Christmastime is high season for counterfeiters, just ask Michael Kessler.
MICHAEL KESSLER, KESSLER INTERNATIONAL: This is fake Louis Vuitton.
SNOW: Take a walk down Chinatown's Canal Street with him and within seconds, street vendors close up shop.
KESSLER: You're closed? Why are you closing?
SNOW: Kessler is forensic accountant, once described as part Sam Spade, part Kate Spade.
KESSLER: We're closed down here again because this is all counterfeit merchandise.
SNOW: Private companies hire Kessler to investigate and crack down on phony merchandise. And one of the biggest hubs for it is here in Chinatown.
Goods from around the world, especially China, make their way to the black market. U.S. officials estimate that manufacturers are robed of $10s of millions each year because of counterfeit goods and telling the real stuff from the fakes is getting harder. That's because technology is allowing counterfeiters to become more sophisticated, and as a result, everything from purses to perfumes, watches, CDs to clothes make for a booming business for vendors like these as long as it's all done in cash.
MICHAEL GARCIA, ICE ASSISTANT SECRETARY: You go get a Louis Vuitton bag somewhere for let's say, $375, I bought my wife one, OK? Over here you get one for $30.
The money consumers spend on counterfeit products whether an extension cord at a discount store or a knock-off designer purse from a street vendor eventually ends up in the pockets of organized criminals.
SNOW (on camera): Investigators and designers saying they're trying to crack down on one of the latest' trends, purse parties, and police have actually shown up at people's homes.
KESSLER: Purse parties are basically some housewife gets together with a group of her friends, somebody comes around to them says we have Coach bags; we have Louis Vuitton bags. People are thinking that they're getting a bargain when, in fact, they're getting nothing but counterfeit merchandise.
SNOW: Designers like Kate Spade, LouisVuitton and Burberry are all targeted. They say counterfeits hurt both their business and their image. Shoppers aren't convinced.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably the folks that are paying 10 or $12 for one of these are not going to go pay for $400 so they're not really -- I'm not saying it's. I'm just saying it's not really competition for the real thing.
SNOW: And for people like Michael Kessler who see one business open as quickly as it another closes, cracking down on fakes becomes increasingly harder.
KESSLER: It's close to a losing battle.
SNOW: Buying counterfeit goods is not against the law. Selling them, however, is. Michael Kessler, who you just met, says the penalties aren't stiff enough to keep counterfeiters off the market.
|
|
|
About Us | Locations | Professional Associations | News Articles
