In November 2019, Schaeffler destroyed 8.5 tons of counterfeit bearings from a successful raid in the Iberian Peninsula. This is another important step in the fight against piracy of products and brands for Schaeffler Iberia as well as for the entire Schaeffler Group.
EUROPE – An oil and gas customer in Europe recently experienced the downside of inadvertently purchasing counterfeit bearings. When a fake “Timken” thrust tapered roller bearing failed shortly after installation in the top drive position of one of its drilling rigs, the customer sent it to Timken for evaluation, believing it was genuine.
Bearings are not the only products that may be counterfeit – a web site itself may be copied to resemble the web site of the genuine producer.
Counterfeits are a problem worldwide. That is why Schaeffler has a Brand Protection Team that operates worldwide. Its members come together in regular meetings to discuss their strategy and find best-practice solutions. The objective is to achieve even more successes in the fight against counterfeiters.
In 2018 JTEKT continued its aggressive activity of identifying and seizing counterfeit goods throughout the world with continued success.
CHINA – Timken continues its robust anticounterfeiting efforts, this time working with investigators to confirm counterfeit operations in Hubei Province, China. More than 35,000 pieces of counterfeit Timken packaging were seized. This is one of 37 seizures in 2018 that revealed counterfeiters globally selling fake “Timken” products.
Customs officers noticed a suspect shipment of 102 rolling bearings. A combination of packaging material in very bad condition, low goods value and a strange shipment route, helped them make the decision to contact the trademark owner to have the authenticity of the products verified.
A few of weeks ago, SKF supported the Justice Department (the enforcing authority) in Kazakhstan during a raid in Almaty. The events that took place during the Kazakhstan visit also put the light on the very faceted tasks pursued by the Brand Protection team. One day you find yourself in work wear, digging into dusty warehouses of potential trademark infringers, the next you are in your c-suite meeting government officials and ambassadors.
The Timken anti-counterfeit response team has focused on developing and updating anti-counterfeiting measures since 2005. These activities protect Timken trademark and intellectual property rights while helping ensure customers receive only genuine Timken® bearings.
In 2017 JTEKT continued its aggressive measures of identifying and seizing counterfeit goods with great success.
