RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC — The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, have initiated a major effort to increase cooperation and communication between automotive suppliers and border officials.
The automotive parts industry loses approximately $12 billion in sales on a global basis annually due to patent and trademark infringement, according to U.S. government sources.
As part of the effort, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will host an anti-counterfeiting seminar on Thursday, Sept. 9, at the Dearborn Inn in Dearborn, Mich. There is no cost to attend the event, which will take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The program will feature a slate of speakers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies responsible for the detection and interdiction of counterfeit automotive products.
“We have been in regular contact with the people at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement officials about the counterfeiting problem in our industry,” said Paul Foley, vice president of MEMA’s Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), which helped organize the event and will sponsor the breaks during the seminar.
“It’s important for suppliers to understand the federal enforcement assets available to catch the people who produce, import and traffic in counterfeit automotive products. This cooperative initiative between MEMA and federal law enforcement officials will provide that information to the marketplace,” Foley added.
MEMA has been lobbying for stronger criminal laws against counterfeiting, improved communication between industry and federal law enforcement agencies, greater government pressure on trading partners to meet international standards of intellectual property protection and fair treatment for U.S. companies bringing complaints against intellectual property violations against their products in foreign markets.
More information on this event will soon be available from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department.
For more information about MEMA, go to: www.mema.org.
_______________________________________
Click here to view the rest of today’s headlines.
