Incidents reported last week include a seizure of two truck loads of pirated DVD’s, CD’s and computer equipment in the US… Other counterfeit goods seized included a large amount of sports clothing in China, cosmetics in India, fake DVD’s in Malaysia and Malta, and luxury goods and clothing in the UK…Other incidents last week include Panamanian authorities finding 6,000 tubes of toothpaste from China, which contained the poison Diethylene Glycol, used often by counterfeiters as a substitute for a sweetener to save money. Many other countries have also reported finding the tainted toothpaste.

Policy developments reported include the US FDA decision to block all imports of toothpaste from China entering the country after the above-mentioned poison scare in Panama. This happened the same week that the US and China signed an agreement to strengthen enforcement of intellectual property rights laws… Also last week a letter was sent from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to the leaders of the G8 urging them to take bigger, bolder steps to beat back counterfeiting and piracy, ahead of their summit meeting in Heiligendamm, Germany…Other cross-country cooperation was seen between Japan and India last week when they agreed to work closer to strengthen IP protection.

Studies reported last week included a poll in the UK of people’s attitudes towards counterfeit goods. Worryingly it showed that millions of Britons were happy to buy pirated clothes, DVDs and computer software, with those in the north-east most likely to break the law.