The BBC is reporting that the number of counterfeit British Pound coins in circulation has doubled in the last 5 years. From BBC News: The number of fake £1 coins in circulation has doubled in the last five years and now stands at more than 30 million, the BBC has learned. This means one in every 50 pound [...]

A government report in South Korea has found that luxury brand Chanel is the most counterfeited brand in the country. From The Korea Times: French luxury brand Chanel most frequently falls victim to widespread trademark breaches in South Korea, which continues to grapple with rampant circulation of fake designer products, a government report showed Sunday. The market for [...]

The European Union has posted a Fraud Official in China due to the high number of counterfeit cigarettes that are produced and distributed from the country.  From the AFP (via Google News): In recent years, the number of cigarettes on the EU black market which originate in China has grown significantly China is the world’s largest cigarette market [...]

China is working hard to get rid of its image a a counterfeit and piracy haven in the eyes of the world community.  After its successful Olympics, the nation of 1.3 billion people is beginning to stamp out counterfeit producers and sellers and to be known as a legitimate manufacturing center.  From Reuters: China is becoming a bit [...]

ABC News has a report on counterfeit drugs and the real life problems that they cause. Read and watch the entire report here.

A proposed trade pact that is meant to help movie and music producers in their fight against counterfeits is raising concerns amongst privacy experts.  The pact, which was announced last October, does not need US Senate approval. Concerns are being raised regarding the private information that ISP providers would have to give to the movie industry.  From [...]

“Unlocked” iPhones are continuing to flood into China as consumers wait for Apple to sign a distribution deal.  An estimated half a million First Generation iPhones were brought to China between June 2007 and March 2008, roughly one-tenth of all global shipments of the iPhone.  In addition, some estimates state that 40 percent of the entire world’s [...]

Today will be the 5 year anniversary of when the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) began its campaign of filing lawsuits against people who have downloaded songs from file-sharing systems. However, the effectiveness of that campaign is in doubt. From Threat Level Blog: It was five years ago Monday the Recording Industry Association of America began its [...]

Clothing companies in the United States are increasingly hiring private attorneys and investigators to find counterfeit articles of clothing being sold in stores.  The Los Angeles Times recently reported on a Counterfeit Jeans Detective who spends his days finding fake pairs of jeans.  From the LA Times: In the midday heat of downtown Los Angeles, Chris Johnson squints [...]

Epicenter blog at Wired Magazine asks whether the figures surrounding piracy are bigger than the actual financial impact.  The post offers numerous links and stories on video game piracy, movie piracy, and the recent stories on textbook piracy.  Read the entire post here.