From Canal Street to the Internet, Fashion to Fragrance, At Harper's Bazaar, Fakes Are Never in Fashion
On May 18, 2010, Harper's Bazaar, in partnership with the Italian Intellectual Property Rights Desk at the Italian Trade Commission, welcomed more than 150 senior fashion and beauty executives, intellectual property rights lawyers, and law enforcement officials for the Sixth Annual Anticounterfeiting Summit. This year's summit focused on the next fake frontier—the Internet and its proliferation of counterfeit fashion, fragrance, food, and film.
The Summit opened with keynote speaker Juan Carlos Zarate, Senior Adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Senior National Security Consultant and Analyst for CBS News. Mr. Zarate discussed the counterfeit trade and its role in funding terrorism.
Following the address, four expert panelists—Carol J. Hamilton, President of L'Oréal Luxury Products; Donatella Iaricci, Head of the Italian Intellectual Property Rights Desk in New York City; Steven Soderbergh, Academy Award-Winning Director and Directors Guild of America National Vice President; and Mary Wikstrom, CEO, Mary Wikstrom and Company Inc.—spoke dynamically about the harm that counterfeiting has inflicted on their respective industries. All four panelists underscored the grave importance of generating public awareness to combat counterfeit trades.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Juan C. Zarate
CBS News Senior National Security Consultant and Analyst; Senior Adviser, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Former Deputy National Security Adviser for Combating Terrorism; Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes
PANEL OF EXPERTS
Carol J. Hamilton
President, L'Oréal Luxury Products Division
Donatella Iaricci
Head of the Italian Intellectual Property Rights Desk in New York City
Steven Soderbergh
Academy Award-Winning Director and Directors Guild of America National Vice President
Mary Wikstrom
CEO, Mary Wikstrom and Company Inc.
QUICK QUOTES
"So today we're not just talking about chasing the guys on Canal Street or monitoring U.S. ports for illegal shipments from China. With the click of a mouse, from any corner of the world, a counterfeiter can infiltrate the Internet, cause consumer confusion, and magnify their illegal reach many millions of times. The Internet is now the undisputed hub of counterfeit sales. In fact, believe it or not, an estimated 80 percent of all counterfeit items sold are sold online.*"
—Valerie Salembier, Senior Vice President/Publisher, Harper's Bazaar
"So it's very difficult to explain that the people that are really affected by this the most are not the stars, and are not even the studios, but the sort of rank-and-file members of the entertainment industry, who number in the hundreds of thousands, whose pension and health programs are entirely funded by residuals, residuals which come from the sale of DVDs, from the reruns of television shows, all of which are in decline because of piracy."
—Steven Soderbergh, Academy Award-Winning Director and Directors Guild of America National Vice President
"It's not just about the bottom line, which is important, no doubt. But it's about the ties between counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property to very important social problems and ills internationally: child labor; public health and safety; innovation; intellectual property rights; the basis of our functioning economy; and, importantly...in the area of national security."
—Juan C. Zarate, CBS News Senior National Security Consultant and Analyst; Senior Adviser, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Former Deputy National Security Adviser for Combating Terrorism; Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes
"When you think about it, it's especially important for the fragrance industry, because fragrances are such an intimate gesture. We put them on our skin. They become part of us. In fact, they become a symbol of our identity. So, when this goes wrong and goes horribly wrong, and we leave a trail that not only does not express who we are, but, worse, really smells bad due to the caustic and terrible ingredients...It really can invade public spaces and erode your confidence and change your identity."
—Carol J. Hamilton,President, L'Oréal Luxury Products Division
"Online banking has been confronting some of the same issues that you in the luxury goods industry are confronting now...which are: How do you transact with confidence? How do you transact safely on the Internet? You see, we actually call it the Wild, Wild Web, because that's what it is. It's just like the Wild, Wild West. It's caveat emptor. You have to be cautious. You have to be careful, because there is no superordinate body that's going to make sure you're safe and secure out there."
—Mary Wikstrom, CEO, Mary Wikstrom and Company Inc.
"For categories of products such as cheese, salami, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, spices, and others, Italy is the leading European country for the number of PDO and PGI products. There are more than 200. Some of them are very famous in the United States, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano, grana padano, aceto balsamico de Modena, and these products are certified and can be identified through two seals. PDO stands for Protected Designation of Origin, and PGI, Protected Geographical Indication—red for PDO and blue for PGI…However, in the United States this matter is not regulated the same way. Because of this, there are many food products made in the USA that use Italian words, or the same names and colors of Italian PDO and PGI products. In the United States, this practice is illegal."
—Donatella Iaricci, Head of the Italian Intellectual Property Rights Desk in New York City
*Annual European Anti-Counterfeit Report, PriceMinister
Click here to read about our 2009 summit in New York City.
Click here to read about our 2008 summit in New York City.
Click here to read about our 2007 summit in London and New York City.
Click to view full sized images and captions
