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Thanks everyone for joining us today.
I’m Senator Chuck Grassley, Co-Chair of the Congressional Trademark Caucus and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
I’m pleased that you’re all here to learn about protecting yourselves against counterfeit goods.
As you all know, the counterfeiting problem is even more aggravated during the holiday season, as Americans shop for presents for their loved ones both in stores and online.
We want to make sure that consumers are safe from fake products that are often times faulty and dangerous to their health.
One of the main goals of the Congressional Trademark Caucus is to raise awareness about the dangers of counterfeits and the role trademarks play in protecting consumers and brand owners.
Today our two panels of law enforcement and industry stakeholders will discuss the extent of the problem and what they are doing to combat it.
They also will give us consumer shopping tips to safeguard against counterfeits.
I encourage you to share this information with your constituents, because consumer awareness is a critical component to addressing the counterfeit problem.
The counterfeiting of consumer products has exploded, and Americans are constantly being tricked into purchasing substandard and dangerous counterfeit goods.
These products often don’t meet safety standards or comply with quality controls, handling and storage requirements.
In particular, this problem is happening in the online space.
Criminals target online shoppers by stocking e-commerce marketplaces with fake knock-offs and stolen goods.
Unsuspecting customers make their purchases thinking these listings and items are authentic, because they look like the real thing. But many times, they are not.
How do we solve this problem? How do we protect consumers from this scam?
Shoppers need to have the confidence that sellers are legitimate and their purchases are safe and authentic.
I was proud to be a cosponsor of the INFORM Act that was signed into law over a year ago.
That law helped to increase verification and transparency of online marketplace practices.
To further enhance enforcement of our intellectual property laws, I introduced a bill with Senator Hassan (D-N.H.) to strengthen the authority of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to share information with rights holders about merchandise suspected of violating intellectual property rights.
While we may not have been successful in getting this legislation across the finish line with the NDAA conference, I’m hopeful that we can move this bill in the next Congress and that it’ll become law soon.
We need better consumer awareness about the dangers of counterfeit and stolen goods offered on online marketplaces.
Consumers must understand the scale of the problem, learn what to spot and be cautious when they shop online.
I hope you’ll learn about how to protect yourself during the holiday shopping season.
I’d like to thank our government and industry panelists for their presentations and recommendations.
I also want to encourage the audience to check out the tables in the back, where we’ll have a show-and-tell of counterfeit goods, a great learning experience for folks trying to better understand the extent of the problem we’re facing.
Again, thank you all for participating in this important event.
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