Re: Re: Trademark Infringement-Important Question

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Trademark Infringement-Important Question

Comments:
: They are many avenues that both law enforcement and the company being infringed upon have. : Having been on the street level of this for many years I can offer many views. : First let me qualify my stand point. I am a private investigator of some 8 years now. I have been dealing exclusively in intellectual properties since I started. What I do is considered the beginning of any actions that may be taken. I am the person who " Undercover" finds the street vendors makes an initial purchase. I send this off to the vendor to be verified that it is an illegal "copy". Meanwhile I go back to the vendor and under some guise inquire about making a larger wholesale purchase. While doing this I will gather as much information as possible from the "suspect". This can be but not limited to Name, contact phone number, license number, Vendors license Number ( if needed by local govt. ). Also if they cannot supply me with the quantity I need maybe they can direct me to their supplier who can. These are merely the first steps. : Typically in my area since I start the case and pass it along to the Licensee for action I am informed of any actions taken so I may not be caught in the middle of a transaction if and when arrests and seizures are executed. Thus the actions are so far down the pike that the suspect has no suspicion that I was involved. : Most Infringed companies don’t' care about the flea market vendors who may have one or two occasionally. Sometimes they may contact the flea market owner through an agent such as myself and inform them to the legalities and simply let the owner police their own vendors. In some cases though where the owner does not police his own, it may escalate which I will detail later. : Means of Enforcement. : Typically once a purveyor of "copies" is found. If they are not a large supplier they may be slapped with a : "Cease and Desist Order" which basically means "stop don’t do again or we will pursue greater means of enforcement. And we'll destroy the current inventory you have". This typically will stop most of the smaller vendors. : I have also developed cases where several Flea Markets in the area were so heavy with vendors and the Owners of the Flea Market was no help to us that. On a Saturday just before noon Federal Officers and Customs Officers with the assistance of local Law enforcement " raided" for lack of a better term 3 local Flea Markets this resulted in 24 arrests for selling bootlegged merchandise. They were selling everything from Rolexes to Disney T-shirts. This prompted the Flea Market owners to Cooperate more in this area. : Also most local Counties now have a specific criminal charge of " Criminal Simulation " this allows the suspect to be charged locally and take some of the burden off of the federal authorities. : I hope this helps you .

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