CAR PARTS
Counterfeiters imitate a wide range of products, from pharmaceuticals to handbags and clothes, cosmetics, electronic products, cigarettes and automobile spare parts. According to the Ankara Chamber of Commerce’s 2010 Counterfeit Economy report, 58 percent of Turkish consumers prefer counterfeit products, demonstrating the economic and political strength of counterfeiters.
Sophisticated counterfeiters who manufacture high volumes of counterfeit products to be distributed internationally are familiar with Turkish laws, are organised, and use gaps in trademark laws to their advantage. T erefore, trademark owners should confront these counterfeiters with a long-term strategy instead of short-term or quick reactive solutions.
Toyota has been successful in obtaining observable results in its fi ght against the counterfeit market since developing a customised anti-counterfeiting strategy with our IP department in 2007. Before Toyota began its strategic long-term plan in 2007, counterfeit Toyota spare parts could be found easily in car repair and service shops across Turkey, and the Toyota trademark was used on signboards, business cards, and other commercial documents in a manner inconsistent with the scope of fair use in trade.
Toyota’s long-range plan reversed these abuses and a similar method could be used by other trademark holders seeking to reduce the quantity of their counterfeit products in the Turkish market. Several important pillars of the plan are described below.
Monitoring
Toyota began its programme by working with an investigation company on a regular basis. T e investigation company kept an eye on the counterfeit spare part market by inspecting local markets, service stations, fairs, and making test purchases. T rough this method it soon determined how many counterfeit products were being sold in specifi c cities or shops, addresses which could be targeted for seizures, and made a thorough analysis of the counterfeit market.
Long-term investigations into the counterfeit market can reveal the origin and quality of counterfeit products and the main actors in the market. It is no exaggeration to say that surveillance of the counterfeit market in Turkey
yields information not only on the domestic counterfeit market, but also on the fl ow of international counterfeit products.
Seizures
Conducting seizures at the addresses determined by the investigation company is the main component of the anti-counterfeiting programme. Seizures are important for several reasons. Apart from preventing counterfeit products from entering the market, seizures demonstrate that the trademark owner is protecting its trademark and will not allow counterfeiters to use it easily. In other words, it is a silent message to the counterfeiters implying that the next seizure could be in their shops.
Most trademark owners base their decisions about where to conduct seizures by considering the number of counterfeit products likely to be obtained. T is focus is actually a mistake. Toyota’s seizures were conducted without regard for possible seizure amounts and succeeded in wiping counterfeit products from the market. In some seizures only 20 products were seized, while thousands were found in others. In some cases where relatively few products were seized, a shop owner may submit evidence (such as an invoice) to the court which reveals a major manufacturer or distributor of counterfeit products. T erefore, the number of counterfeit products in a shop is not the only criterion which should be considered when planning a seizure.
T e fi rst year of Toyota’s seizures in Turkey revealed that there was one large distributor selling the same products to every small or medium-sized shop. T is distributor knew the gaps in Turkish trademark law, acted carefully, and created its own method to avoid detection. Even though it was a large company, it did not keep counterfeit products in its registered offi ce. Seizures revealed that this company was distributing counterfeit spare parts using trucks. Surveillance of the trucks revealed that the company kept its counterfeit spare parts in an unoffi cial, hidden storage facility.
T e subsequent raid on the facility captured 60,000 counterfeit Toyota products. During the raid it was discovered that the company was importing unmarked products and working with a packaging company to manufacture identical packaging for well-known automobile brands. T erefore the seizure of 15 to 20 counterfeit products not only prevented 60,000 counterfeit products from entering the market, but also revealed important information about the counterfeit market in Turkey.
www.worldipreview.com
World Intellectual Property Review May/June 2012
47
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