Imitation Nation

Senior Trade and Policy Analyst Piotr Stryszowski at the OECD published a piece this week in advance of the holidays called “The real cost of counterfeits is higher than you think,” about how the real cost of counterfeits isn’t just poor quality, but toxic materials and health consequences. OECD reports that counterfeit trade hit nearly $470 billion - that’s 2.3% of global trade. And it’s no longer just fake handbags. We’re talking auto parts, medicines, toys, even alcohol, products that can literally kill. The OECD says 65% of seizures continue to come from small parcels and mail. Now this data is from 2022, so we will see how the end of DeMinimis will impact this.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is looking into seven incidents, including five fatalities, involving aftermarket air-bag parts that failed and ruptured during collisions. Federal regulators say they think the air bags in the incidents contain parts from a China-based company called Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology, also known as DTN Airbag. Last year, NHTSA said it was aware of five incidents, including three fatalities, involving substandard air-bag inflators failing during a crash. Now the agency is connecting DTN to those incidents and the two additional fatalities—including a crash as recent as July. Air-bag replacements have been in focus since the 2014 recall of Takata air bags, which were linked to 28 deaths in the U.S. and tens of millions of vehicles recalled over the past decade.

France’s highest court reaffirmed Christian Louboutin’s trademark protection for their red sole on their shoes, and upheld a previous court decision of nearly a quarter million euros on a defendant who was found to have sold 12 pairs of counterfeit shoes and 628 handbags. The decision also reaffirmed the enforceability of Louboutin’s signature red-sole trademark under French law.

In the UK so far in 2025, Border Force authorities say they have seized a quarter million fake toys worth 3.5 million pounds. 90% of these were fake Labubu dolls. Testing conducted by authorities show that 3 in every 4 seized toys contain banned chemicals or choking hazards, despite being designed for toddlers and young children. Authorities say parents should prioritize safety, stick to trusted retailers and beware of unusually low-prices.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office announced that in 2024, authorities intercepted 112 million counterfeit goods valued at 3.8 billion euros, the second highest seizure year on record. The report has a breakdown of categories of contraband goods which is topped by fake CDs and DVDs. Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and Poland accounted for 90% of the volume of items detained. The top three countries of origin, in this order, are the United Arab Emirates, China, and Turkey. Sea cargo remains the primary mode of transport.

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency made a huge bust in Northampton, which is northwest of London. The Criminal Enforcement Unit raided a facility that was manufacturing retatrutide, tirzepatide, and putting it into injector pens for shipment to customers. There was so much product I think it took them two days to log all the seized materials into inventory.

At the time of the raid, they found current inventory of about 2,000 illegally manufactured pens waiting to be shipped worth about a quarter of a million pounds. Authorities say the facility it has been used for large scale illegal manufacturing for some time.

The Mexican pharmaceutical firm IFA Celtics, which makes a variety of pharmaceuticals for women’s health, mental health, and metabolic health has deployed ForgeStop’s NFC labels in their production line of medicines. This is probably the largest investment in anti-counterfeiting technology that a Mexican pharmaceutical firm has ever made. If you’ve ever tapped to pay with your phone or watch, you’ve used the NFC technology. You don’t need to download a new app. Anyone, from patients to pharmacists to the entire distribution chain can use these to verify authenticity of medicines.

Additionally, these verifications get reported to ForgeStop who runs a global dashboard that brands can monitor. So if you’ve shipped a pallet of medicines to Mexico City and the verifications start popping up in the U.S., you’ve got a heads up on a diversion scheme. And since you probably know where you sold that pallet to, you know your suspects.

• Nightline aired a special investigative report “The Dark Shot” on the rise in fake Ozempic with Special Agent Nicole Johnson of Homeland Security Investigations. The reporters found fake Ozempic with no prescription needed available online. They also went to the Port of Cincinnati where they watched them open some Spanish labeled Ozempic that’s not safe for Americans and unable to determine if its counterfeit or not. There was also an interview with legendary investigative reporter Katherine Eban, who chased down counterfeit Ozempic to its source for an earlier article in Vanity Fair.

• San Francisco local fashion brand Baggu created a custom line of hats and water bottles adorned with what looks like the Bay Area Rapid Transit systems logo to celebrate the launch of its new store at 888 Valencia St. There’s just one problem: the transit agency BART had no idea it was happening.

• The U.S. Department of Justice is dismantling OCDETF a key task force targeting major drug cartels, according to internal documents obtained by Reuters. DOJ says the move will streamline operations and save over $11 million, but critics warn it risks weakening core capabilities in prosecuting cartel activity. 

• “The Louisiana Department of Public Health (LDH) warned the public about counterfeit botox, and to avoid receiving injections from unlicensed sources and non-medical settings like med spas.

Police in Los Angeles raided a warehouse tied to CoolKicks, a high-profile sneaker retailer, on Oct. 2 and arrested Co-founder Adeel Shams while he was live streaming an auction of sneakers.

Show notes - Imitation Nation #18

In this episode, we cover:

The International Trademark Association published a quick 14 page handout on making the case for Return on Investment for your company’s anticounterfeiting program.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last week announced the seizure of 4.7 million units of unauthorized e-cigarette products with an estimated retail value of $86.5 million – the largest-ever seizure of this kind. The seizures were part of a joint federal operation in Chicago to examine incoming shipments and prevent illegal e-cigarettes from entering the country. And simultaneous enforcement actions across the U.S. The seizures, done in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration, with enforcement actions carried out at five distributors and five retailers in North Carolina, Arizona, Illinois, New Jersey, Georgia and Florida, she said.

Puma’s enormous legal victory in German court against a logistics provider for providing logistics for a counterfeiter. It’s a big case, but the key is that it creates new liability for logistics carriers that we didn’t think existed before.

Quick news hits:

• 2,500 shipping containers seized by Greek law enforcement
• Temu Agrees to $2M Civil Penalty and Injunction for Alleged Violations of the INFORM Consumers Act
• Korean Intellectual Property Office boosts 2026 budget to enhance K-brand protection
• High-quality counterfeit  $CAD100 bills circulating in Simcoe County Canada, police warn. But Bank of Canada posted a full review of security features on YouTube, which could almost be seen as a how to guide for forgers. 
• DOJ and DHS Launch Cross-Agency Trade Fraud Task Force
• Fake Labubu dolls described as 'most dangerous counterfeit toys ever seized'

In this episode, we cover:

• Interview with Amazon CCU 
• Counterfeit Lamborghini Drinks 
• Researchers develop new sensor to ‘detect counterfeit medicine’ 
• 32,000 pounds of meat products recalled due to false USDA inspection marks. 
• Counterfeit perfume on Walmart’s platform. Attorney General Nessel Announces Felony Charges Following FORCE Team Counterfeit Product Seizures

If you have a story you want us to cover, let us know in the comments on our linkedin page.

On this week’s episode of Imitation Nation, we discuss one of the biggest trade policy shifts in years: the end of De Minimis, which officially expired at midnight through an Executive Order. This sudden end to a decades old policy is sending ripple effects through supply chains, as freight companies, freight forwarders and Post Offices across the globe are temporarily suspending or stopping shipments to the United States.

We explore what this seismic change means for global commerce and we highlight the positive outcomes for brand protection, brand owners, trademark holders and how this will likely provide lasting impacts on counterfeit enforcement. We also discuss the ripple effects across supply chains, and the strategic implications for professionals on the frontlines of IP enforcement.

We also cover the sudden termination of the controversial Type 86 entry pilot program, which has resulted in the exponential growth in small parcel and De Minimis shipments. Beyond the headlines, we look at where counterfeiters may move next and why this shift,
though disruptive, could ultimately create a stronger, more resilient landscape for legitimate commerce and be a game changer for Brand Protection.

This White House has made big changes to De Minimis: For a look at the scale of packages, check out this CBS News piece. We cover the impact on counterfeit medicines, especially fake fentanyl pills, and techniques that companies might start to use to circumvent tariff uncertainty.

The Trump trademark owners have complained about ecommerce platforms selling counterfeit versions of Trump-branded products and filed litigation.

We also talk about a machine that makes counterfeit pills, the pill press, and a recent report the Partnership for Safe Medicines published about illegal pill presses.

And there’s a lot of shout out stories this week we don’t have time to go into fully:

• Counterfeit Labubu toys

• $3.5mm seized in Port of Cincinnatti

• Fentanyl analogues finally got scheduled after 6 years of work

• Brandy Melville sues Temu after suing Shein

• Really good looking fake $100’s

• Amazon’s counterfeit crimes unit is claiming they’ve secured $180mm in penalties and 65 criminal convictions.