Police take down Counterfeit Heritage Grill Seller

I would guess it's because the grill had the TOYOTA letters in the center. The video was blurred so...
Toyota must vigorously defend any trademark infringement or they lose trademark protection. Chevrolet didn't defend the bowtie logo and its public domain now. Another example of vigorously defending a trademarked logo is The University of Notre Dame, few companies are licensed to sell ND shirts jackets etc

Use of a trademark is basically theft, think of it in terms of people bringing in loads of leather purses from Mexico with designer labels. Yes they bought them from a supplier, but the supplier didn't have the right to use the trademark. Every so often you hear of someone being busted selling fake Gucci/Prada/Coach purses, lots of Karens want people to think they paid $2K-$3K for a purse. Or fake Rolexs, anything that sells for a whole lot more than it really should just because it has a certain name on it.

It may seem like just a clever person making something available for less, and it's legal to do so in most cases as long as you don't use the trademark.

 

How can people think it's a good thing to have huge companies fund a militarized police force? They could have walked in with clipboards and served a warrant. And Toyota would have had to file a lawsuit to enforce a pat claim. This is not a good thing and anyone who thinks it is won't understand until it's to late.

 

Because Amazon police are at it again or wait, maybe they're just along for the ride (read: they're the criminals and this video is fluff)

Edit: this comment was brought to you by Tacomworld, sponsored by Amazon.com

 

Filing a lawsuit is a matter of civil law, but this video pertains to intellectual property theft, a criminal matter.


I do agree with your point about the need to make this look like some dangerous transnational cartel.

 

Two words: Jeff Besos (Nordstroms doesn't sell counterfeit Prada)

 

wow these people need to get a life lol bunch of menchildren

 

Meanwhile it took Cisco 8 years to put this guy away

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/...scheme-traffic-estimated-1-billion-fraudulent

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-pro-grill-or-a-knock-off-one-for-150.628354/

Real TRD grille or knock off?

@tcBob

 

Yeah, no. This is straight up intellectual property theft and illegally importing forged products. IP thieves deserve to be aggressively taken down. If you believe stealing someones IP designs then reproducing them overseas in China, illegally smuggling them into the US, and trying to uncut the IP owner is somehow legitimate so you can save a buck, you need a hard reality check. IP thieves undermine small business and large alike. I've personally been involved in reporting and pursuing many IP thieves that have damaged our lighting community with counterfeit products. Fucking scum.

 

Same.

 

Does Amazon need to give up sales/profits of the illegal products sold? They probably agreed to make a video (in-leiu of a penalty for counterfeit products)

 

Yeah IP theft is bad but I don’t think that’s the point most people are making here. Like @whatstcp said…us common folk are getting cars stolen, cats stolen, property damage, and for the most parts cops don’t really care. Yet here you have a 30 person task force spending six months to take down some dude selling knock off grilles.

 

So, do y’all consider the grille that doesn’t have the letters on it a “Knock Off”?

 

Great point! How is AMAZON not on the hook for promoting and distributing counterfeit goods? Aren't they the conduit for the criminal enterprise? Can I host drug sales out of my house? I'm not selling them... the criminals are just using my house.

Edit: cut off the head of the snake... oh wait, we get too many tax dollars from that snake.

 

Illegal counterfeit goods is a Federal offense and under Federal jurisdiction for investigation. Those are Federal special agents, that isn't your local police force. Your local cars and cats stolen is a local municipality police issue. The FBI is not coming to your house about your cat being stolen. They are not the same police forces, not funded by the same budgets and not related in any way. If your local police department isn't responding to the needs of your local community that is an operational issue that needs to be addressed locally.

Edit: It isn't that I'm not sympathetic, but people need to understand how the system works before making wild accusatory statements like their police forces are not paying attention to common folk and instead going after illegal importers when they are not the same groups at all.

They don't have the letters because if they did they get seized at customs as an illegal forged product. So they import the letters separately, then they can be attached here to recreate the fake grill after bypassing customs.

 

Just a wild guess, but it's probably easier to persu intellectual property counterfit vs catalytic converter ripoff (because locations). Maybe a fix is in order? Who knows? (might be subject to patent ie catshielld)

Friday thread: my local jurisdiction busted me for counterfeit Pro grille...

 

So.... If a company makes a part without the "Toyota" on it, is it illegal? Do body shops have to get emblems from the dealership? Where is the line drawn?

 

Personally, if this guy was just someone trying to get a better deal on a grill and had to buy a few of them....I have no issues. But he had a warehouse full! Professionally, counterfeit parts is a real issue for all of us in the long run. For instance, these bad actors have been selling to the military and now we have counterfeit aviation parts in the inventory that is hard to filter out. Aviation failures end in loss of life and millions of dollars lost, so this is an example of the extreme. But, it is rampant throughout the country. I get wanting something that's non critical such as a grill or purse at a good price, but I just feel like you should buy the real thing if you can.

 

That is a good question.

Isn’t it common practice for body shops to use aftermarket replacement parts to save money? Is an aftermarket grill any worse than an aftermarket bedside panel or other body part?

I believe the issue is the word “Toyota” on the grill as that is a trademarked name. If it said “Tacoma”, maybe they could say they were just fans of the Washington state city. They probably could serve a market if they offered custom letters for those who want something unique.

With clothing and other consumer products, I think the rules are you cannot protect a design, only a logo. This is why many designer brands have their logo emblazoned all over the product.