US Customs to Address Imaging Product Fraud

A deputy assistant director of US Customs and Border Protection will go head to head with OEMs and the aftermarket who manufacture and distribute printing consumables in the United States.

Jorge A. Garcia, who is based at the Los Angeles field office, will spearhead the discussions on fraud and counterfeiting in Las Vegas in September.

According to Imaging Supplies Coalition president and event organiser, Allen Westerfield, the conference will mark the 20th anniversary since the key printer OEM’s rallied to fight the counterfeiting of print consumables.

Westerfield claims the world wide imaging consumables loss to counterfeiting is approximately 3.5% to 5% of total revenue. “That’s between $3.0 billion and $4.0 billion.”  He says the scope of the problem varies considerably by region, but issues continue to exist in North America, Western Europe and Japan with much higher rates in other parts of the world.

This year, for the first time, the legitimate suppliers and distributors of aftermarket printing consumables have been urged to join the fight against fraud and counterfeiting. Leaders from Print-Rite, Ninestar and Apex Microelectronics have told Recycling Times Media this event is significant because no aftermarket payers have participated before.

According to Westerfield, Travis Johnson, Vice President of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition will also attend to raise awareness and join the call to action. The successful application of technology to combat counterfeiting will be revealed, along with reports on the status of Intellectual property rights in China, Brazil and Africa. Updates of the current patent issues facing the industry will also be addressed.

Recycling Times is a media sponsor of the event to be held at Planet Hollywood 14-16 September, 2014 and will be reporting daily breaking news from the event.

Registration is open now and more information is available from Allen Westerfield +1-941-961-7897 or http://www.isc-inc.org/pdf/2014_conference_flyer.pdf