Seizures reported last week include a large consignment of counterfeit alcohol in Russia…In Australia the largest ever seizure of pirated DVDs have been found yielding over 100,000 discs… A similar size seizure of pirated DVDs took place in Argentina... Discoveries include counterfeit condoms on sale in the UK… Fake and poisonous Islamic holly water known as Zamzam has been discovered in the UK, the water has been found to contain dangerous levels of arsenic and nitrates… Elsewhere in the UK fake gold has been found on sale with dangerous levels of nickel and that could cause skin irritations.

Cases and Outcomes reported last week include Astar electronics being forced into bankruptcy as the result of an IP and trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Royal Philips Electronics…. The RIAA has filed a lawsuit against Usenet.com, claiming that it "enables and encourages" people to swap copyrighted music.

Policy developments last week include the Indian government incorporating video piracy under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act, which provides for the preventive detention of an offender… In a cross industry accord a consortium of media and Internet companies led by Walt Disney Co. and Microsoft Corp. have agreed to a set of rules they will abide by in the contentious area of posting copyright material on the Web.

Studies and Reports out last week include one from a Kenyan business which is losing more than $5 million annually due to counterfeits and is having to cut half its workforce… Another similar report out shows that East African Community (EAC) members are losing $20 million annually in taxes due to counterfeiting.