William F. Smith: “Mr. Speaker, product names are a key part of the American economy, not only to boost sales of a product, but also to…”

“Mr. Speaker, product names are a key part of the American economy, not only to boost sales of a product, but also to assure that consumers have some assurances about the identity of the manufacturer of the product they are interested in buying. Counterfeiting, the effort to deceive consumers into buying lower quality goods instead of the high quality goods they want, is now a real problem for high-tech companies. For many years, software publishers have attempted to thwart counterfeiting activity by developing physical authentication components, called COAs, that help consumers and law enforcement agencies distinguish between genuine software and sophisticated counterfeits. Counterfeits are now combining pirated CD-ROMs and packaging with genuine components obtained through theft or fraud. Multiplied by millions of transactions, the result to legitimate businesses is lost jobs, lost profits and lost tax revenue on a scale that compromises the health of otherwise vibrant industries. Last week, a Federal indictment charged 11 people with conspiring to distribute more than $56 million in counterfeit software and products.”