Seizures took place last week of counterfeit and pirated DVDs and CDs in the UK and Macedonia… Customs also confiscated hundreds of thousands of fake pills in Dubai …Thousands of items of fake luxury goods were seized in Singapore… Other large seizures of counterfeit goods took place in Nigeria and Uganda…Last week a Chinese man was killed when the battery in his mobile phone, which appears to have been counterfeit, exploded.

Cases last week include the first person to be arrested and charged with the new illegal camcording law in New York, which upgraded film piracy from a violation with a $250 fine to a misdemeanour that carries up to six months in jail and penalties of up to $5,000… A second drug official to be arrested over corruption charges has been given a suspended death sentence by Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court… A major counterfeiter of Nintendo video games has been ordered to pay Nintendo 2.5 million U.S. dollars in damages and legal expenses, by a Uruguayan Civil Court.

Policy developments reported last week include the U.S. Conference of Mayors passing a resolution supporting more training, education, and enforcement of intellectual property laws…In India the government will introduce a new Bill with severe penalties against makers and sellers of fake and spurious drugs, in the next session of Parliament.

Studies and reports out last week include one estimating that tens of billions of illicit cigarettes, smuggled or counterfeited, are sold on the black market each year, contributing to an increase in tobacco-related deaths and costing governments billions of dollars in lost revenue, according to the Framework Convention Alliance.