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chain is affected by counterfeit parts. He urged reporting any counterfeits to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center by call- ing % 1-866-IPR-2060 (1-866-477- 2060) or 703-603-3800 or by sending a fax to 703-603-3872. For more information on how and what to report, see their web site www.ipr-
center.gov. The IPR Center coordinates
investigations with federal, state, local, and international law enforce- ment agencies. The IPR Center encourages members of the general public, rights holders, trade associa- tions, law enforcement, and govern- ment agencies to report instances of intellectual property theft to them for prompt action. The growth of the counterfeit industry has also
Storing untested components can be an invitation to disaster, since the assumption is made
that such parts on the shelf are genuine.
increased the problem of maintain- ing a reliable source of components for long-life systems. More caution by the users is mandatory when prod- ucts are not procured from the origi- nal manufacturer, authorized sales channel, or authorized aftermarket manufacturer. Otherwise, the increased likelihood of a counterfeit part getting into the system increas- es the possibility of a system failure.
When to Test? Board-level and box-level test-
ing will catch a majority of the pack- age-related counterfeits before they impact a system in the field. Although most counterfeit integrated circuits ultimately are found before the product is installed in a system, there are still costs associated with finding and replacing them. It also impacts readiness, as a counterfeit part may spend years in a warehouse before it is sent to the field for use and then detected. During the time period that it has been sitting unde- tected in someone’s warehouse, it also may have become harder to replace with a legitimate part. Since replacing such a part with a known good one can take time, some effort also needs to be made to check exist- ing inventories, particularly if they were purchased outside the manufac- turer’s normal sales channels. The first step is to check pro-
curement records for product that has been purchased and stored for future use to ensure it is not counter- feit. After confirming that all inven- tory is good product, procurement processes should be reviewed and incoming inspection procedures tightened to ensure that only legiti- mate product goes to the production line and into inventory. The quantity of counterfeit
product will continue to grow as long as there are willing buyers. Although the least costly and quickest solution in the past was to use internet bro- kers and distributors, counterfeits have changed the picture so drasti- cally that this is a risky solution.
With counterfeits, the possibility of product failure has increased to the point that the users must protect themselves by testing incoming prod- uct before using it, thus increasing both the cost and the risk. To avoid this risk, the simplest option is for the user to purchase product from the original manufacturer, the man-
May/June, 2012
Counterfeit Components Still Endangering our Troops Continued from page 53
stated by one user company that if you buy a military grade IC through the broker market today you have a 50/50 chance of getting a counterfeit. One suggested method to combat this problem is to only buy from author- ized distributors, but even this isn’t foolproof. The counterfeiters and unscrupulous buyers and sellers have found a new way to get the counter- feits into the supply chain. They procure products which are
Good reliable product is avail- able from licensed aftermarket manufacturers like Lansdale.
ufacturer’s authorized sales chan- nels, or a franchised aftermarket manufacturer — even though at first blush this might appear to be a more costly and time-consuming solution. Ultimately, the cost is much lower, since the product purchased is gen- uine and usually has already been tested by a reliable supplier.
Military Market Is Prime The counterfeiters have learned
that products for the military IC mar- ket sell for higher prices than their commercial counterparts, and the real military grade products are often in short supply at legitimate sources or carry high minimums and long lead times. This is a made-to-order situa- tion for the counterfeiters. It has been
counterfeit, then buy legitimate prod- uct from an authorized distributor. They contact the authorized distribu- tor stating that they procured the wrong part and return them for refund or credit or “exchange” for the right parts, except that what they return are the counterfeit parts, which the authorized distributor puts back on the shelf in good faith. While this was first reported about four years ago, it’s still going on, and the savvy distribu- tors are now testing parts that are returned for restocking. Counterfeiters are getting bet-
ter and bolder. They will continue to thrive as long as there is a market for them to serve. It is getting more dif- ficult to identify counterfeit products, which further increases the risk when product is purchased outside of authorized sales channels. When counterfeits are found, they should not be returned to the source but held and reported to the National Property Rights Center (% 1-866- 477-2060). Contact: Lansdale Semi conduc -
tor, Inc., 5245 South 39th St., Phoenix, AZ 85040-9008 % 602-438-0123 fax: 602-438-0138 Web:
www.lansdale.com r
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