Seizures and discoveries last week include one in the UK where trading standards officers found an assortment of fake goods worth over £1 million… In the US, customs inspectors seized over $22 million worth of counterfeit goods after the container they were in was scanned by X-ray… A number of raids have taken place in Ireland yielding thousands of pounds of fake clothing, CDs and DVDs… In India, approximately 150 people have died after drinking poisonous illegal alcohol, police expect the death toll to rise.

Cases and outcomes last week include Michael Jackson adding his name to the list of artists suing the BitTorrent tracker The Pirate Bay for facilitating the illegal downloading of copyrighted works… In separate judgements, a man and woman in the US have been sentenced to 63 and 34 months in prison respectively, for selling counterfeit merchandise… In Hong Kong, the government has said that owners of a pharmacy that sold counterfeit impotence medicine, which led to the deaths of two people, could face manslaughter charges… Conversely, two men who sold thousands of potentially dangerous erectile dysfunction drugs in the UK have been given a suspended sentence and community service.

Policy developments last week include The Dubai Declaration, which steps up the fight against fake goods with a set of tough guidelines to track and seize fake goods as well as fine and convict those who trade in them.

Studies and reports out last week include the 2007 European Union customs seizures of counterfeit goods. The report shows there was a 17% increase in seizures of counterfeit goods compared to the previous year.