Channel on counterfeit storage tape red alert

Fujifilm is working closely with the channel to trap rogue traders after intercepting "large quantities" of counterfeit products

Bang to rights: Firms caught selling counterfeit products could face unlimited fines and up to 10 years in prison

FujiFilm has declared war on unscrupulous importers trying to flood the UK channel
with counterfeit versions of its data storage tapes.

The offending products, said FujiFilm, are imported into the UK packaged as new,
despite being second-hand and up to 10 years old.

The firm claims to have intercepted “large quantities” of counterfeit products on their way into the UK and said it has “sufficient evidence” to link the source to the US.

A source at Trading Standards said channel firms caught selling the counterfeit products could face unlimited fines and up to 10 years in prison for breaching the Trademark Act 1994.

Additionally, any profits made through the sale of the products would have to be
repaid under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Roger Moore, strategic business manager at FujiFilm, said the vendor has settled out of court against two firms caught trading in counterfeit tapes and is working closely with its channel partners to trap others.

“Our partners have been alerting us to the presence of suspicious products on the market,” said Moore. “We have also been able to trace back supply links through the information provided to us by our resellers.”

Terry Betts, managing director of FujiFilm partner CCS Media, has been working with the vendor to identify rogue channel traders by purchasing suspicious products on its behalf.

“When we have passed on the tapes we have purchased to FujiFilm for testing, three out of five of them have not worked,” added Betts.

Geoff Dance, company director at FujiFilm partner PMD Magnetics, added: “The losers in this chain of events are the end users, because they think they are buying a new, reliable product, when they are, in fact, purchasing second-hand, used tapes.”

He added: “FujiFilm has protected the brand, the industry and end users from this sort of trademark infringement and exposure to potentially severe data loss.”