Levi's fights against counterfeiting acts

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)