Mich. lawmaker introduces bill to strengthen anticounterfeit law

Mich. lawmaker introduces bill to strengthen anticounterfeit law    Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich., has introduced legislation to strengthen the federal law used to prosecute individuals who engage in counterfeiting products.
   “Manufacturers in this country are the most efficient and technologically advanced in the world, but they face many challenges, particularly those costs they cannot control,” Knollenberg said in a statement Tuesday. “We must focus on measures that alleviate those costs, such as cracking down on criminals who break the rules.”
   It’s estimated that counterfeiting costs U.S. companies about $200 billion a year.
   The so-called “Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act” requires the mandatory destruction of equipment used to manufacture and package counterfeit goods. The proposed legislation also addresses methods that counterfeiters have used to evade prosecution, such as the selling of patch sets or medallions that can later be attached to generic merchandise and given the appearance of a genuine product.
   Knollenberg noted that the United States must also increase cooperation with other countries in the war against counterfeiting. “With these provisions in law, our trade negotiators will be able to seek stronger anticounterfeiting provisions in bilateral and multilateral agreements with trading partners, with these improvements as the basis for asking other countries to enact similar changes,” the U.S. representative said.
   A bipartisan group of 21 lawmakers are original cosponsors of the Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act. The bill will be referred to the House Judiciary Committee.