SEMA Celebrates Passage of Anti-Counterfeiting Bill by U.S. House of Representatives

WASHINGTON--May 2, 20054, 2005--SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, applauded the U.S. House of Representatives for taking an important step in the global battle against counterfeiting. Yesterday, the House unanimously passed the "Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act" (H.R. 32) which provides additional domestic and international means to destroy fake products.

SEMA has made passage of this bill a legislative priority. The legislation is sponsored by Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and has strong bipartisan support. The measure now proceeds to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Protecting the intellectual property of our members is a primary and ongoing concern for SEMA," said Chris Kersting, president and CEO of SEMA. "The legislation is one more tool for prosecutors and government agencies to use when fighting bogus copies."

The legislation will strengthen U.S. trademark law by making mandatory the seizure and destruction of counterfeit goods, as well as the equipment, tooling, packaging and machinery utilized to produce the counterfeit goods. It would also clarify that it is illegal for counterfeiters to sell counterfeit versions of the trademarks themselves on labels, patches and medallions, for use by others who affix them to counterfeit products. The bill will also allow the United States government to insert stronger trademark protections into free trade agreements.

"The quality products manufactured by SEMA members are the result of years of research, development and good will," said Kersting. "Bogus copies quickly erode that expenditure of time, money and effort. The consumer is also ripped off since the fake product may be substandard. We respectfully urge the U.S. Senate to swiftly pass the bill so that it can be enacted into law."

In addition to the safety issues associated with counterfeit products, counterfeit automobile parts may cost the auto parts industry $12 billion dollars annually. It's estimated that if these losses were eliminated, and those sales were brought into legitimate companies, the automotive industry could hire 200,000 additional workers.

SEMA is a member of the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy (CACP), an industry-wide effort led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and a number of other trade associations and companies. SEMA and the CACP have been actively lobbying for passage of the H.R. 32.

SEMA represents the $31 billion specialty automotive industry. Founded in 1963, the trade association has approximately 5,700 member companies. It is the authoritative source of research data, trends and market growth information for automakers and the specialty auto products industry. The industry provides appearance, performance, comfort, convenience and technology products for passenger cars, minivans, trucks, SUVs, crossovers and recreational vehicles. For more information, contact SEMA at 1575 S. Valley Vista Dr., Diamond Bar, CA, 91765-3914; call 909-396-0289; or visit www.sema.org or www.enjoythedrive.com.