Levi's fights against counterfeiting acts

JAKARTA (JP): Levi Strauss & Co., the producer and holder of Levi's intellectual property rights, with the help of Jakarta police is striving to fight against counterfeiting practices in the capital by targeting infringing manufacturers.

The company said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that this technique was expected to be more useful than raiding retailers, who often have no information on the source or manufacturer of the counterfeit products.

"If there are infringing manufacturers and all parties involved in the counterfeit at all levels are not abiding by the law then Levi's will have to take action in line with the existing regulations," the statement said.

According to the statement, it is very important for business confidence that investors believe that the Indonesian authorities are taking the problem of intellectual property rights infringements seriously and are consistently enforcing the law whenever deliberate infringements occur.

A large quantity of counterfeit Levi's stocks were destroyed voluntarily by a garment factory in East Jakarta late last month after being raided by officers of Jakarta Police's economic crime unit.

In the raid, which was launched as part of a campaign to raise awareness of intellectual property rights, it was discovered that the company had manufactured thousands of counterfeit Levi's products along with numerous accessories, such as labels, back patches and buttons.

It is believed that the factory was producing in excess of 1,000 pairs a month and supplying wholesalers and retailers in the Jakarta area.

The owner of the factory, after obtaining an explanation about his wrongdoings from the police, admitted his fault and promised not to repeat it again in the future.

He then voluntarily destroyed the counterfeit Levi's jeans and their accessories in the presence of the police team and a representative of the Levi's company. (hhr)