AUSTIN, Texas, July 15 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Two separate defendants have been charged by the Department of Justice and pleaded guilty to Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods.
( Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20091109/LA08424 )
( Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091109/LA08424 )
Genevieve Rullan and Chunchai Yu both pleaded guilty and are being sentenced by the U.S. Department of Justice in regards to counterfeit Ab Circle Pro machines.
"We're glad that action is being taken," said David Brodess, President of Fitness Brands, makers of the Ab Circle Pro. "And we are cooperating fully with authorities in this case and additional ones that are expected."
"Of course the actions of counterfeiters are harmful to us," Brodess continued, "but we’re more concerned about the prospect of harm to consumers and the fact that they are purchasing a product in good faith with our name on it and then receiving a lesser value."
Ross Epstein, partner with The Nath Law Group, a boutique intellectual property law firm which represents Fitness Brands, says the aggressive prosecution of counterfeiters is the only way to discourage others from creating and marketing fake machines.
"We have worked hard at establishing protection for the Ab Circle Pro through a strategy of obtaining patents, trademarks and copyrights worldwide as well as a robust and effective approach to enforcing the rights of the legitimate developers of the Ab Circle Pro," added Epstein, "and we will continue to work closely with authorities to pursue seizures at ports, the pursuit of infringers who advertise counterfeit products online, and tracking down the rogue factories and trading companies along with the companies and individuals that are importing counterfeit goods."
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, counterfeit and pirated goods seizures totaled more than $272.7 million last year, a 38 percent increase over the previous year. There have been more than 25 seizures of counterfeit Ab Circle Pro machines to date with more expected.
Not only does this illegal practice hurt the company whose trademarked products are being copied and add to legal expenses, it's harmful to the eventual buyers who can end up with an inferior product that is potentially dangerous and badly made. It also hurts companies in the supply chain of legitimate manufacturers and importers such as packaging vendors, shippers, retailers, secondary website retailers, and of course, the owners and employees of the company being cannibalized.
Counterfeiting is huge business problem on a global scale. Since 2005, US Customs has seized just under $1 Trillion of counterfeit goods. That says nothing of the untold trillions of dollars in counterfeit goods that go undetected. In 2009 alone, Customs seized over $260 Million in counterfeit goods, with the majority of these coming from Asia. Fitness Brands is working closely with the US Customs Service to pursue action against the importers as well as the manufacturers in Asia.
About Ab Circle Pro
The Ab Circle Pro is made with gym quality steel that's built to last a lifetime and folds for easy storage under the bed or in the closet. The Ab Circle Pro also features three levels of resistance so it’s perfect for any fitness level and has a unique patent pending Friction Free Track to get you off the floor. More information about the Ab Circle Pro system can be found at http://www.AbCirclePro.com .
