Police efforts to crack down on commercial piracy have been successful this year, with the seizure of a record high of 5,743 fakes of well-known brand names as of the end of last month, a spokesman for the National Police Administration (NPA) said yesterday.
As the Lunar New Year holiday approaches, police nationwide have recently launched a new clampdown, the spokesman said, adding that they nabbed nearly 400 bootlegged products with an estimated value of about NT$1 billion (US$29.4 million) in just the past three days.
The pirated goods seized by police range from bags, clothes, watches, cellular phone cases and cosmetics, which were all imitations of big-name brands such as Gucci, LV, Nike, Rolex, Montblanc, Nokia and Motorola. They also included popular music CDs and video games, as well as computer software programs, VCDs and DVDs, the spokesman said.
Police officers around the nation focused their anti-piracy search on traditional markets, night markets, business centers, shopping malls, warehouses and factories, while immigration authorities and customs officials have stepped up scrutiny at seaports and airports nationwide.
The results underscore the government's resolve to stamp out violations of intellectual property rights in accordance with promises the country made to gain entry to the WTO, he said, adding that the NPA also offers incentives to encourage police officers to carry out their mission.
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