Usa: Congress passes Anti-Counterfeiting Bill

Congress took a major step to end counterfeiting last week with the passage of the Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The bill is expected to be reconciled and then signed into law by President George W. Bush in the coming weeks.

'This legislation is a victory for the entire optical industry and it is our hope that it can act as a model piece of legislation for countries around the world', said Mike Hundert, chairman of the Vision Council of America's (Vca) Eyewear & Accessories Division. 'While this is a productive step forward, the degree of cooperation, coordination and commitment from international organizations will define the effectiveness of our fight against counterfeiting and for fairness'.

S.1699 was introduced by Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) after the passage of its counterpart H.R. 32 in the House of Representatives, which was introduced by Representative Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI).

The bill will strengthen anti-counterfeiting laws by prohibiting possession of labeling devices that mark licensed brands on counterfeited goods and by imposing mandatory penalties and the destruction of counterfeit goods.

Each year counterfeiting becomes more advanced and takes up a larger percent of the world trade. Currently, the world market looses more than $300 billion to counterfeiting, which is approximately six percent of all market trade. In 2000, three percent of all U.S. seizures of counterfeited goods were sunglasses, equivalent to approximately $1.5 million worth of counterfeit products.