Cyberhome USA raided by FBI
06-15-06, 03:17 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: dc-md-va
Posts: 959
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Cyberhome USA raided by FBI
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...NG5RJDKKS4.DTL
Importer busted over counterfeit DVD players
20K units seized are worth more than $2 million
A multi-agency task force has executed a search warrant on the country's largest importer of DVD recorders and players, confiscating eight tractor-trailer loads of recorders allegedly bearing counterfeit trademarks.
James Sibley, a Santa Clara County deputy district attorney, said the warrant was served June 8 on Fremont-based Cyberhome USA, a U.S. affiliate of Cyberhome Taiwan. Sibley said the value of the 20,000 units exceeds $2 million.
Sibley said agents from the REACT task force, an anti-counterfeiting strike team composed of agents from five California counties and the state and federal governments, served the warrant. No arrests have been made, Sibley said, but a criminal investigation is ongoing.
Representatives of Cyberhome could not be reached for comment.
Cyberhome had a leasing agreement with Philips Co. to manufacturer relatively low-end recorders and players, Sibley said.
"Cyberhome ran up a $22 million bill with Philips, which they didn't pay," Sibley said. "So Philips pulled their license. The problem is that Cyberhome kept manufacturing and selling recorders and players under the Philips trademark."
The products weren't inferior, Sibley said -- essentially, they were the same as the recorders and players sold under the licensing agreement. But they were not authorized by Philips -- and Philips wasn't getting paid.
"This is about trademark infringement, not product quality," Sibley said. Sibley said Cyberhome USA was importing the unauthorized DVD equipment "by the shipping container load" from Taiwan.
Sibley said that trademark infringement is a mushrooming problem for American business, with China and Taiwan accounting for most of the violations.
"We anticipate it will get even worse as the manufacturing base in those countries expands," he said.
Sony was once the largest exporter of DVD equipment to the United States, but Cyberhome stripped them of that position last year, Sibley said.
"Now Sony may be number one again," he said.
Importer busted over counterfeit DVD players
20K units seized are worth more than $2 million
A multi-agency task force has executed a search warrant on the country's largest importer of DVD recorders and players, confiscating eight tractor-trailer loads of recorders allegedly bearing counterfeit trademarks.
James Sibley, a Santa Clara County deputy district attorney, said the warrant was served June 8 on Fremont-based Cyberhome USA, a U.S. affiliate of Cyberhome Taiwan. Sibley said the value of the 20,000 units exceeds $2 million.
Sibley said agents from the REACT task force, an anti-counterfeiting strike team composed of agents from five California counties and the state and federal governments, served the warrant. No arrests have been made, Sibley said, but a criminal investigation is ongoing.
Representatives of Cyberhome could not be reached for comment.
Cyberhome had a leasing agreement with Philips Co. to manufacturer relatively low-end recorders and players, Sibley said.
"Cyberhome ran up a $22 million bill with Philips, which they didn't pay," Sibley said. "So Philips pulled their license. The problem is that Cyberhome kept manufacturing and selling recorders and players under the Philips trademark."
The products weren't inferior, Sibley said -- essentially, they were the same as the recorders and players sold under the licensing agreement. But they were not authorized by Philips -- and Philips wasn't getting paid.
"This is about trademark infringement, not product quality," Sibley said. Sibley said Cyberhome USA was importing the unauthorized DVD equipment "by the shipping container load" from Taiwan.
Sibley said that trademark infringement is a mushrooming problem for American business, with China and Taiwan accounting for most of the violations.
"We anticipate it will get even worse as the manufacturing base in those countries expands," he said.
Sony was once the largest exporter of DVD equipment to the United States, but Cyberhome stripped them of that position last year, Sibley said.
"Now Sony may be number one again," he said.
06-15-06, 04:27 PM
#2
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Mpls, MN
Posts: 6,830
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by dleedlee
Sibley said the value of the 20,000 units exceeds $2 million.
It says recorders in some paragraphs, that would make more sense. But hard to tell with the sloppy news editing.
