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LG Taking Global Action on Fakes





In mid-April a Chinese cell phone called the Diamond began selling very well on online shops in Britain, Germany, France and other European countries. The phone was a duplicate of LG Electronics' Shine phone, the popular follow-up to LG's hit Chocolate phone.

The imitation looked almost exactly the same as the Shine, including its overall design, color, screen size, buttons, and even packaging, but it cost just half the price. LG quickly demanded retailers in China and Europe stop selling the Diamond and the company is preparing a lawsuit against the Chinese manufacturer and a French importer.

Meanwhile LG Chem caught a Korean building supplies dealer distributing Chinese imitation marble under LG Chem's brand "Z:IN HI-Marcs" and submitted a complaint to prosecutors.

According to LG Group, pirate versions of 39 LG products were found in China last year, which is a huge increase from 2005 when just five products were found to have been copied. In the Middle East, Dubai has become a major distribution center for fake products, with the number of pirated products there increasing from one in 2005 to six in 2006. In Urumqi, China, 27 1.5-ton trucks were found packed with pirate televisions and air-conditioners last year. They were seized and destroyed by the Chinese government.

The pirating of LG products is a building trend, and LG Group is now taking serious steps to deal with the problem. Individual cases will be handled by the legal teams and the license teams of affiliate companies, while the group will implement measures to halt the distribution, import and export of pirate goods as a whole.

Apart from registering its trademarks in various countries, LG is registering the LG brand with customs agencies of major countries. That way when pirate goods are discovered passing through customs during import or export, immediate action can be taken. The company has so far registered its brand with customs in the U.S., China and Bulgaria.

The group is planning to register the brand with the customs agencies of Dubai, the European Union, and Russia. In the Middle East, LG's legal team and license center is educating customs officials how to tell if something is a genuine LG product.

An official with LG said the group will gather information using professional inspection firms in territories with high numbers of pirate goods, such as China, Dubai and Hong Kong, and use that to better inform local agencies how to check for imitations. [Via Chosun.com]