DISPLAY GP-MONITOR 2839530 - Caterpillar

After the sting: Packing and shipping department of a counterfeit operation in Los Angeles was equipped with rubber stamps bearing Caterpillar part numbers and stamping equipment set up for Caterpillar labels. Raid on the operation netted 1,500 counterfeit injector nozzles, 68,000 polyethelene packages bearing the Caterpillar trademark and 14,000 "Caterpillar" labels.Further investigation disclosed that the counterfeiting operation's "manufacturing" sources included at least one company in Italy and two in California. Its marketing efforts (price bulletins) covered the globe.
Engineering tests conducted by Caterpillar revealed numerous manufacturing defects in the nozzles that could have resulted in misfiring, lower horsepower, fuel pump failure, crankcase oil dilution and immediate piston seizure.
Caterpillar issued press releases and bulletins to dealers and customers worldwide, alerting them to the problem. Through court action, Caterpillar also halted the company's counterfeiting activity, although the firm is still in business.
"They were a legitimate operation before and we have every reason to believe they're a legitimate operation now," says Goodale. Caterpillar sought a permanent injunction and also asked for monetary damages which, at the time, was the only "punishment" possible for counterfeiting. (Under new anti-counterfeiting law, it would have been a criminal offense.)
Goodale explains that Caterpillar did not pursue the damage suit simply because "it would have been a very expensive proceeding. But at least we accomplished what we set out to do."
An isolated incident? Goodale can prove otherwise. Working with another engine manufacturer, Caterpillar recently uncovered another counterfeit operation in Brooklyn. This time, the company was buying parts from a variety of sources and labeling them according to customer (mostly overseas jobbers and distributors) demand.
James Snow, manager of packaging and processing control for Caterpillar, worked with a private investigator in this "sting" operation and participated in the subsequent raid. He describes a somewhat untidy warehouse and a "couple of likable guys."
Caterpillar and its ally were only allowed to confiscate boxes or labels with their trademarks. Still, the "likable guys" yielded enough to fill one and one-half 16-foot vans with counterfeit materials. They left behind stacks of parts in unmarked boxes and a comprehensive library of several major manufacturers' counterfeited literature and promotional materials.
Sources for the parts have not been, and may never be, disclosed since files have not been searched to date. Some bearings that were confiscated, however, bore the original labels of a well-known manufacturer-but the labels had been covered with Caterpillar identification.
Snow saw "all kinds of truck engine parts" in the warehouse, and says he has good reason to believe that the sources were not always as reputable as the bearing example.
"Made in USA" air cleaner on left was actually traced to Indonesia.Customer files were not available either, but judging from mailers and packages ready for shipment, the customer base was, again, worldwide.
The Caterpillar stories are instances of true counterfeit items, which are legally defined as "identical or substantially undistinguishable from the original." This could also apply to trademarks.
The counterfeit is an exact or very close replica of the legitimate part, right down to markings, patent numbers,