Motorola Inc. reiterated its concern over a proliferation of counterfeit accessories, particularly Bluetooth headsets, purported to be made by Motorola and reaching consumers in the United States. Motorola warned that the counterfeits are cheap fakes, won’t perform as advertised and cannot be serviced by the company.
The company’s concern comes as the holiday retail season gets underway. Motorola is the leading Bluetooth headset manufacturer, and accessory sales have become a significant revenue stream for the vendor and its distributors and retailers.
Black-market counterfeit products typically proliferate in emerging markets where price-driven consumers don’t know or care about authenticity, according to a report on the subject by Gartner analyst Kobita Desai. Numerous companies have pressed their concerns with the governments of countries where counterfeit devices originate and headlines this year reflect mixed success, particularly in China, the apparent source of the counterfeit products of current concern to Motorola.
But the appearance of counterfeit products in the United States is not new, according to Mitch Black, senior vice president for product sales and distribution in North America for device distributor Brightpoint Inc.
“We’ve seen more activity around counterfeit products from Asia and sold here, particularly this year,” Black said. “It’s not just Motorola. I wouldn’t be surprised if you hear more about this issue from other [original equipment manufacturers] as well. Our people were meeting with Nokia Corp. today and the subject apparently came up.”
The impact-lost OEM sales-is difficult to quantify, Black said. The greatest concerns are two-fold: the sub-standard product in consumers’ hands and the resulting damage to OEMs’ brand equity.
Black speculated that online sales might be a logical place for offers of counterfeit products, as the medium makes it difficult if not impossible to examine the product closely enough to confirm its authenticity. The issue is unlikely to come up in what he called “committed industry channels.” Independent retailers who might be targeted for the sale of counterfeit goods should consult Motorola’s Web site for tips on detecting fakes, Black said.
Indeed, online auction site eBay apparently has unwittingly carried a number of these knock-offs, according to user comments posted on the auction site’s Web site alerting potential buyers that the fake units are inferior and that Motorola will not service them. According to its Web site, Motorola is monitoring the online auction site to shut down the sale of counterfeit goods.
Motorola’s Robert Levine, general manager for the vendor’s MobileME division, signed a full-page advertisement in RCR Wireless News cautioning industry players about the fakes. Levine specifically mentioned four Bluetooth headset models, the H500, H700, HS850 and HS820, and warned that making, possessing, selling or importing counterfeit goods, including fake packaging, is illegal. Tessco Technologies Inc., Brightpoint, Brightstar Corp., Superior Communications and CellStar Ltd. are listed as authorized distributors of the genuine products.
Spotting counterfeits
Motorola has established a Web site, Motorola.com/original, that provides tips on spotting fake merchandise, including headsets, batteries, chargers and cases. The vendor also provides a form for consumers to report information on the source of counterfeit goods.
A slide show on Motorola’s site identifies numerous characteristics that could aid consumers in determining whether a unit they’re looking at is an authentic Motorola product. The differences can be subtle and may require close examination of the product.
For Bluetooth headsets, numerous details can be examined to establish authenticity. For example, on the front of a Bluetooth headset, there is a narrow step around the volume button; fakes have a wide step. Grooves on the surface of the accessory are not as deep and wide as on fake headsets. On the back, where product information is printed, Motorola’s logo on authentic products is round; on fakes it is rectangular. Both authentic product and fake bear the message “Made in China;” on the authentic product this is true and in the case of the fake, it is likely true. The lax enforcement of international standards for respecting trademarks and intellectual property in China has long been a point of contention between the U.S. government and Chinese authorities.
Black-market traffic
In a study on black-market traffic in handsets, Gartner reported that anti-smuggling initiatives have been successful in curtailing-if not stamping out-the illegal trade. Black-market activity undermines brand equity through the lack of after-sale support and sub-standard products, Gartner reported.
