ELYRIA, Ohio — A North American OE leading the fight against counterfeit truck parts and components appealed to a Senate subcommittee hearing on protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights.

Bendix Commercial Vehcile Systems’ Anthony C. LaPlaca, vice president and general counsel, testified to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, about the impact of knock-off and non-genuine parts on vehicle brake performance, overall highway safety, brand equity and lost revenue for legitimate component manufacturers.

Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, chairman of the subcommittee, invited Bendix to testify.

The hearing focused on the progress that the administration’s Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!) initiative has made in developing and implementing a plan to improve intellectual property rights enforcement.

New initiatives would enable the government to
attack the techniques that counterfeiters are using

“The sophistication of counterfeit operations has improved to the point of making it difficult for consumers to discern the real from the copy,” LaPlaca said during testimony. “But in terms of performance, quality and actual costs, there are obvious differences. And for Bendix, in particular, dealing with components and systems that directly influence the braking ability of a heavy truck — with its impact on vehicle operation, driver safety and the safety of others who share the highway – underscores the need to control this issue.”

Due to the influx of knock-offs and the infringement of intellectual property rights, Bendix estimates millions of dollars in revenue are lost annually across multiple product lines.

“The challenge is more than financial, however,” LaPlaca said. “At Bendix, we’re concerned about the dire consequences that knock-off parts can create for users. Bendix components and systems relate directly to the safe and reliable function of the air brake system on commercial vehicles.”

The supplier, which proposed the government consider legislation to strengthen legal protection for industrial designs, says it has successfully instituted its own comprehensive intellectual property protection and enforcement program, which focuses on extensive education and outreach, intellectual property protection, and enforcement of its patents and trademarks.

“The buying and selling of look-alike products is a problem propagated by the knock-off reseller’s use of the company part names and part numbers as the genuine Bendix products,” LaPlaca said. “Often, the part numbers are not eligible for trademark protection. For this reason, Bendix would benefit from extending intellectual property protection to industrial designs of its safety critical air brake products and components. In fact, the entire automotive industry, and perhaps other key U.S. sectors, would benefit from this type of legal protection.”

The STOP initiative would enable the government to attack the new techniques that counterfeiters are using and adapt to their ever changing practices of intellectual property theft.

While it was already illegal to manufacture, ship, or sell counterfeit products, proponents say the legislation would close a loophole allowing the shipment of falsified labels or packaging, which counterfeiters could then attach to fake products in order to cheat consumers by passing off poorly made items as brandname goods.

Counterfeiting of vehicle parts is a world wide problem. Tires, for one, are also an easy target.

Michelin, the world’s largest tiremaker, is looking to the European Union to crack down on the arrival of fake truck tires, largely from Asia. The group also has sent letters to 5,000 tire distributors throughout Europe and North America warning it will take legal action if it finds counterfeit tires being sold under the Michelin brand.