UL's 2-day workshop in Long Beach, CA in June included a program to protect the trademark property rights of manufacturers and thus, protect consumers from illicit and potentially hazardous counterfeit products.

The workshop, which included a special emphasis on wire and cable, was designed for information sharing and networking among manufacturers, distributors, law enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and INTERPOL.

Several CCCA member companies attended, along with other wire and cable firms. CCCA presented on its experience and findings in studying counterfeit communications cables and connectivity products.

For almost 15 years, UL has taken an aggressive stance against counterfeiting. Its recently introduced holographic label for communications cables incorporates cutting-edge technology, elevated security features, and a unique hologram that is easy to identify and validate, yet incredibly difficult to replicate. 

Product counterfeiting is a big business - estimated to cost hundreds of billions of dollars each year. It impacts the economy in a variety of ways, including consumers that believe they are buying authentic products, legitimate manufacturers that invest in safety and quality manufacturing processes, and distributors and retailers who want to provide safe, reliable products to their customers.