Posted on 12/30/2010 2:16:38 PM PST by RS_Rider
Suspecting overseas counterfeiters would target fans eager for NHL Winter Classic memorabilia, three federal agencies conducted a joint operation they say intercepted 792 items of fake sportswear.
If the items were legitimate, they would be worth about $137,000, said Joseph Klaus, Customs and Border Protection port director for Pittsburgh. The fake sports memorabilia is a small part of the millions of dollars worth of counterfeit items that agents believe come into the Pittsburgh area annually, he said.
"This is just something that will highlight the counterfeit problem we're facing," he said Wednesday while displaying some of the seized Penguins jerseys.
Much of the fake goods are medicines and electronics that don't meet U.S. manufacturing standards and pose a danger to public safety, he said. With sportswear, the main dangers are that the jerseys would fall apart and that people thinking they spent money to support the Penguins and Steelers are "actually supporting the counterfeiters," Klaus said.
Customs and Border Protection worked with the Postal Inspection Service and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations office to identify and seize the counterfeit goods at post offices and private mailing service centers.
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
There's that many people willing to be seen in a Penguins jersey? I call BS.
How much would they be worth if they were made of solid gold...and encrusted with jewels?
That was my first thought as well.
And what do you want to bet that these fake sports memorabilia are probably made in the same Chinese factories as the certified sports memorabilia? It’s extremely unlikely that they are made in Pittsburgh.
Probably the only difference is that the team owners don’t get their cut of the profits. And probably those owners are big political donors.
Great. The owners in the the NHL have their personal police force...while the farmer-taxpayer on the Southern Border...gets the big fat extended middle-finger from Janet Napolitano.
Houston...we have a problem....
And the federal agents all get nice warm press box seats to enjoy
the games the little people can’t afford, all in the name
of a safer homeland.
“Great. The owners in the the NHL have their personal police force”
What do you think the chances are that some elected or appointed bureaucrat
has some skin in the game so far as “official merchandise”
getting to the customer without any market interference.
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now that’s cynical!!
Winter Classic:
The NHL trying desperately to copy the “Cold War” and the “Big Chill.”
I doubt they will get the attendance those two had. Only the crazy people from Michigan, including yours truly, would create and attendance of over 113,000.
All ‘certified’ NHL Jerseys, be they “Authentic”, “Premier Replica” or “Replica” (the three levels of quality) are made in Canada.
My wife ordered a t-shirt from NHL.COM for the Pens. It was $30. We sent it back. You could red a newspaper thru it. It was GARBAGE!!!!
Sorry, that’s not entirely correct - the Jerseys worn on the Ice, the “Authentic” and “Premier Replica” are made in Canada, the “Replica” jerseys are made in Indonesia.
Homeland Insanity can't be bothered to guard the borders, but don't try to sell an unlicensed jersey on Ebay!
Last summer the agents swarmed the counterfeitters at the flea market in Rogers, OH
And I'd bet a bunch the "Counterfeit" items are also made in Indonesia - at the same factory as the "real" ones...
It's what we get for dealing with people who have not the slightest idea what the word "ethics" means.
Political donors or not, it used to be a principle of conservatives that the control of one’s trademarks and other intellectual property was a good thing.
You’d think, but it’s actually pretty easy to spot counterfeit hockey jerseys. They tend to be quite different from the ‘real’ ones, making it unlikely they’re coming from the same factory. I’m kind of a ridiculous hockey fan (I am Canadian after all) and the internet forums are filled with people posting photos of hilarious fakes. The colours are wrong, the stitching is always garbage, etc. etc.
Counterfeiting is naked, unethical capitalism, plain and simple. It’s people who are willing to break the law to make a buck. Not unlike “Undocumented Workers”.
I don’t think anyone objects to protecting copyright and property rights. It’s just a matter of what appears to be selective law enforcement.
They enforce some laws and ignore others.
Well, no one wants 100% enforcement of all laws all the time.
So, can you suggest a better target for intercepting counterfeits than those being sent wholesale to the NHL’s largest event of the year?
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