OtterBox said internal investigations and collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) led to judgments and settlements totaling nearly $11 million in favor of OtterBox in 2012 and helped confiscate more than 118,000 counterfeit items.
Counterfeiting has become a huge problem for OtterBox, said Rachael Lamkin, associate general counsel for OtterBox. We are serious about protecting the OtterBox portfolio of products and the brand as a whole. That means a focus on the fight against counterfeit cases and efforts to educate the public about the realities of counterfeiting.
According to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, approximately 72% of all counterfeit items seized in 2012 originated in China. To establish a strong anti-counterfeiting campaign against this audience and others, OtterBox formalized a broad-based complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission in May 2011 against numerous Chinese and U.S. companies engaged in the manufacturing, importation and sale of protective cases for portable electronic devices that infringe the intellectual property rights of the company.
Fort Collins, CO-based Otterbox is also focusing more on educating consumers.
Its important that consumers understand the difference between authentic and counterfeit product and unfortunately some do not, Lamkin said. Counterfeit OtterBox cases lead some consumers to believe they just made a bargain purchase, but the low price tag means poor quality and a bad reflection of our brand. That purchase is also counterproductive to developing a strong economy.
Consumers are encouraged to report potential counterfeit OtterBox product by visiting the support page on www.otterbox.com.
