In February the largest and only seizure of counterfeit products ranging from Levi Strauss to Tommy Hilfiger products were seized at the Belize customs.
While the catch was valued at some $600,000, anyone is yet to be found liable for bringing in these products and prosecution is still pending. Bearing that in mind, today the U.S. state department held a seminar for local law enforcement personnel to acquaint them on the enforcement of intellectual property rights. They were shown everything from detection to identification of cheap rip offs.
We spoke to Levi Strauss' representative Ernest Wheale who says that pirated products more than just tarnishes the originals.
Ernest Wheale, Levi Strauss
"What we are doing is making the local authorities aware that most of the merchandise coming in are undervalued because they are counterfeit or some kind of contraband and that the Belize people are not getting tax duty and revenues that they are entitled."
"When you buy a branded product, when the trademark on that product, you have an expectation of a certain level of taste or quality. When you buy for example Levi's jeans and they are counterfeit and you wash them one time and the seams come undone and buttons fall off - we can't expect you to return to buy another product and overtime that diminishes the value of the brand."
"They shouldn't support the counterfeit product because the people that deal in counterfeit are criminals and in most cases organize crime or terrorists."
Wheale says they are working at improving relations with Belizean law enforcement personnel to ensure prosecution whenever any violation of intellectual property rights occurs.