News

Erasing David shown on TV (…in Canada, for now)! – 13 January 2010

On Sunday, January 17 Erasing David made its first small screen premiere at 10 pm ET/PT on CBC News Network. Sadly, for us in the UK we’ve got to wait a little longer though we are having private and corporate screenings in the meantime.

In the documentary, filmmaker David Bond decides to go “off the grid”, and “UK's top Private Investigators“ in the form of Cerberus track him using whatever information they can find in the public domain.

By putting himself under surveillance and attempting to disappear David finds out how much private companies and the government know about him. Leaving his pregnant wife and young child behind, he is tracked across the database state on a chilling journey that forces him to contemplate the meaning of privacy – and the loss of it.

In their quest to locate David, Cerberus employed many of their surveillance, tracing and background profiling techniques to battle against their ever-elusive prey.

At the end of the film David's disturbing journey leaves him with no doubt that although he has nothing to hide, he certainly has something to fear.

For more information about CBC's showing of the film click here. You can also view the trailer of Erasing David here.

If you would like to arrange a private screening of Erasing David with Cameron Gowlett and Duncan Mee of Cerberus at your law firm or company please call or email us.

Makita's Grey Imports Take A Hammering – 19 October 2009

At a time when everyone is seeking a bargain, Internet consumers should be aware that not every deal is a steal and the goods may not be up to the job!

During the last two years Makita (UK) together with Cerberus Investigations have successfully targeted an influx of parallel (grey) imports of their premium power tool range into the United Kingdom from the United States, Europe and Asia. In total, over 2500 infringing auction listings have been removed from eBay.co.uk.

Parallel Imports are genuine products made by a company which are sold within a territory where they are either not intended to be sold, not compatible or because the company has local distributers to sell their products. Imported tools themselves pose serious health and safety issues for users where the plugs do not fit and the power supply conflicts with the UK's 240v system forcing the buyer to have to spend more money on transformer plugs. While being cheaper in price, imported goods do not guarantee a good buy since these goods often invalidate their warranty meaning if a tool becomes faulty the buyer would have to send the tool back to the country of origin for repair.

The other major issues with imported foreign products is that they undercut legitimate UK retailers which can damage home grown profits and also the reputations for the manufacturer - if tools go wrong or even fail to arrive and the customer is left out of pocket when the foreign seller is unwilling to help because they have no obligation and often do not care since they’ve already been paid.

Using eBay's VeRO Programme which gives Right's Owners the ability to shut down infringing auctions, Makita and Cerberus have successfully reduced the number of imported tools being sold on eBay within the United Kingdom to zero.

As soon as imported tools appear in eBay listings of UK or foreign sellers, Cerberus initiates a Notice of Claimed Infringement and the auctions are removed within a matter of hours. Cerberus even monitors eBay at weekends to target two day flash auctions.

This success has been achieved by maintaining a constant presence on eBay, searching for specific keywords and using the human eye to spot infringements in photographs often missed by programme-led monitoring systems.

Imported Makita tools have been driven from the auction site which protects both consumers and Makita UK Limited from unscrupulous sellers.

Commenting on the programme, Charles Cookman, Financial Controller at Makita (UK) Limited states “Makita (UK) Ltd believes that grey imports are bad for our customers since they infringe health and safety legislation and provide no warranty. The service we have received from Cerberus has been excellent, with their knowledge and expertise they have efficiently stemmed the flow of the grey imports of our products into the UK.”

If your company is being affected by grey imports of your products give Cerberus Investigations a call on +44 (0) 870 351 2486 or email info@cerberusip.com for information on our fixed-fee eBay and other online auction monitoring programmes.

Proving it's the real thing – 15 April 2009

Portero,the new online auction site specialising in selling genuine luxury goods, is set to become the auction site to trust. Customer loyalty is a valuable asset for any business and running your business on this currency should prove to be pretty appealing for both consumers and the 180 brand owners currently listed.

Luxury goods work on the sensibility of the consumer and brands cannot afford to lose their desirability factor, which is threatened every time a counterfeit product hits the market.  On this note, Portero offers customers an something other auction sited do not; it offers a guarantee.

Will Portero grow to be a rival for the godfather of auction sites – eBay, or will proving each individual luxury product is genuine, become increasingly difficult, the larger Portero grows?   It may be too early to tell but at least Portero, with its verification of authenticity by both in – house and external specialists as well as its invite only auction site, making even the attempt to buy luxury goods, a well sort out privilege.

Internet infringements increase as credit crunch hits – 7 November 2008

Official eBay monitoring agent, Cerberus Investigations, confirmed today that as the credit crunch bites, consumers are increasingly lured by the prospect of an online bargain. Cheap deals on lifestyle products are usually parallel or counterfeit goods, leaving consumers and the brand owners both out-of-pocket.

Sites like eBay, uBid, Overstock.com, alibaba.com and others are all popular outlets for traders in counterfeit and parallel goods. The value of this can be enormous; Apple lost around $400 million in 2007 in a matter of weeks when a million iPhones made their way onto the grey market through multiple sellers operating through these and other online auction sites.

Cameron Gowlett of Cerberus said of the phenomenon “We have more instructions from IP lawyers than ever before to track down the perpetrators and close down these sites. Most of this new business is driven from IP lawyers and their clients because of the massive damage this trade causes to their bottom line and reputations. Our cleansing actions can often be self funding as many of those caught end up paying compensation, especially the larger players”.

Cerberus is an official eBay monitoring agent and takes down infringing and illegal products instantly using the VeRO process. Once cleared Cerberus monitors brands daily (including Sundays!) to stamp out any recurrence of even spot-traders from as little as a few hundred pounds a month.

The colossal scale of this trade is such that Cameron said “Almost every brand owner may be helped in this way”.

For more information or to discuss instructing Cerberus, please call Lennie Varvarides on +44 (0) 870 351 2486, or email lennie@cerberusip.com

eBay fined record amount in Europe – 1 July 2008

A French court ruled yesterday that eBay would have to pay €40 million in damages to the luxury fashion group LVMH for allowing the sale of counterfeit goods, lipsticks and perfumes on the auction website.

The fine is the largest that eBay have faced in Europe, although the company has faced opposition from many large fashion and cosmetic brands. Last month a French court ordered eBay to pay €20,000 to Hermes following the sale of anti counterfeit handbags.

LVMH does not only dispute the sale of anti-counterfeit goods on the auction site, but also the sale of real items which the group claim violates their distribution network, which only allows the sale of such items to specialist authorised dealers. If eBay continues to sell and advertise these goods then they face a fine of €50,000 per day.

The decision of the court is being appealed by eBay.  An eBay spokeswoman stated that the "decision does not relate to the fight against counterfeiting.  It is about LVMH's wish to protect commenrcial practices that exclude all competition".

Since 2006, eBay has spent $20 million trying to stop the site becoming bombarded with counterfeit products, by working with brand owners and using programmes which can analyse suspicious sales.

At Cerberus we work with a number of brands who are facing similar problems on eBay. We have a registered VERO account which allows us to take down infringing items from eBay as and when they appear. We offer eBay monitoring services to our clients and if this is something you would be interested in learning more about then please contact us at Cameron@cerberusip.com

Debt Collection in Turkey – 6 March 2008

Cerberus would like to announce that we are now conducting debt recovery services in Turkey!

There are currently limited debt recovery companies in Turkey and therefore it is often difficult for a company or individual to recover any debt in the region. However Cerberus is now able to offer debt recovery services using our qualified and experienced recovery agents. Our agents have over 10 years worth of debt collection experience and are familiar with the Turkish Law system and debt recovery procedures.

There are usually two methods used when recovering debt in Turkey; an amicable settlement or a Court settlement. Our agents are able to deal with both methods and handle the case from the initial approach through to the final coordination of any Court hearing, both for consistency and continuity.

If you would like to use our debt recovery services in Turkey please send an email to info@cerberusip.com.

Ben's Zoo – 1 December 2007

Last week saw the premiere of Ben’s Zoo on BBC 2 at 8pm. This week sees the second instalment of four programmes which document the reopening of Dartmoor Zoological Park.

Dartmoor Zoological Park was bought by Duncan Mee’s family in late 2006 to save over 200 animals including lions, tigers and deer. While, the family had no experience of working with animals prior to the acquisition - this did not halt their enthusiasm.

Obviously there were a few minor incidents along the way, including a Jaguar escaping, but the family worked round the clock and eventually the zoo opened in July 2007.  Duncan, co-Director at Cerberus has been helping his family with the zoo’s redevelopment.

The Dartmoor Zoological Park currently boasts an impressive array of animals including three Siberian tigers, two African lions, nine wolves, three big brown European bears, two pumas, a lynx, four Asian short-clawed otters, two flamingos, owls and even a Brazilian tapir called Ronnie!

For further information about the programme please see the link Ben’s Zoo.

If you would like further information about the zoo or would like to visit it, please see the link Dartmoor Zoo.

Operation Stormgrand nets record haul of fake Viagra – 17 September 2007

The counterfeit trade in illicit medicines took a direct hit this month when five members of a criminal gang were found guilty at Kingston Crown Court in the biggest conspiracy of the supply of counterfeit medicines thus far in the UK. Between 2002 and 2005, large consignments of fake Viagra, Cialis and Propecia were shipped in industrial-scale quantities into the UK from foreign factories and the tablets were then repackaged and sold over the Internet to customers worldwide.

Over £1,500,000 of counterfeit medicines was confiscated. The products were almost identical to the real thing, with carefully forged packaging, logos and patient information leaflets. The medicines contained around 90% of the normal active ingredient found in the authentic tablets, but regulators said customers were put in danger because of other possible ingredients.

The operation involved investigators, Customs and Excise officers and was led by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This government agency is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work, and are acceptably safe. They issue guidelines which explain the background to counterfeit medicine production and highlights how organised criminal gangs have become involved in the production of illegal medicines and are supplying them through the internet, often to unwitting patients.

Here at Cerberus we have worked in most industries that have issues with counterfeiters or infringers including footwear, fmcg, sportswear, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, confectionery, apparel, white goods, household goods, alcohol and spirits, perfumes and cosmetics, automotive, toys, watches, luxury goods, software and music.

If you require advice or a quote please visit our anti-counterfeiting page or call us to talk to one of our expert team.

For the full story from the MHRA website please click here.

eBay plays major role in counterfeit market – 30 August 2007

A recent report Counterfeiting Luxury: Exposing the Myths 2007 commissioned by London law firm Davenport Lyons has concluded that buying counterfeit goods has become socially acceptable, with more than two thirds of UK consumers proud to tell their friends and family that they had purchased fakes. This is an increase of 20% on the previous figures from 2006.

In addition, consumers spent 10% more on faked designer and luxury brands than in the previous year, bringing the average spend to £21.30 per person.

More than 10% of those questioned said they had paid over £50 for a fake, continuing the trend identified in last year’s report of many of these consumers being well-off: 20% of them come from households earning over £50,000 p.a.

The majority of these counterfeit items were bought in markets in the UK, and the amount of goods bought abroad or on the Internet also increased. In particular, eBay was highlighted for being the source of 29% of this market, putting it third in the overall table of fake goods suppliers. eBay purchases were also twice as likely to have been bought in good faith by the shopper as those from other sources.

This report shows that the growing social acceptability of buying fake goods is creating a crisis for brands which will affect company profits as well as exclusivity. Clearly there has never been a greater need for effective brand protection. Here at Cerberus we can offer services such as anti-counterfeiting and parallel trade investigations, as well as our specialist eBay Investigations team for online infringements.

Please visit out Intellectual Property section for more details.

The full report can be obtained from the Davenport Lyons website or directly from this link.

Private Detectives turn out to be the White Stuff for Entrepreneurs – 13 July 2007

An increasing trend is spreading across the country, as corporations and entrepreneurs start to view crime in more solution-orientated way. When vital information, stock or transportation are stolen or compromised by thieves or vandals, business owners are starting to see this in the same light as any other financial risks to their businesses. They are going to take the most effective action to regain their assets or to help their business function correctly with the least disruption possible. The most startling example of this recent phenomenon started with a rainy, windy night on the 15th of March 2007: White Stuff, a clothing company, was the victim of a theft from a lorry: robbed of a consignment of £500,000-worth of new-line stock. The incident occurred near the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT). The Chief Executive of White Stuff wanted the stock back, and quickly. He didn't want his brand to be compromised by sales on the black market. What he wanted was results, and quickly, so he engaged Cerberus Investigations Ltd. to pursue the matter.

Immediately, Cerberus commenced investigations and gathered information from interviews with the freight agent, the haulier (and the driver himself), Warwickshire Police press office and officers at the Rugby station, DIRFT staff, and traffic control agencies in the area. This information and notice of a reward was disseminated through liaising with the local press. Information started to flood in.

When in late March and early April the clothing started appearing on eBay in the original packaging, still with the swing tickets and bar codes attached, White Stuff engaged the services of Cerberus' specialist eBay Investigations Team to gather information about the goods and sellers. Over the next three weeks Cerberus tracked the consignment and obtained the names and addresses of all the sellers. The goods were all based in or near Liverpool, Merseyside.

These details were supplied to the appropriate police departments and on the morning of May 16th eight warrants were successfully executed by the local constabularies in Liverpool North, Kirkby and Blackpool. A large number of items (roughly £50,000-worth) were retrieved, many in their original White Stuff container boxes from the HGV. In the following few weeks, Cerberus' eBay Investigations Team monitored eBay to ensure that any further stolen items were removed.

Cerberus had worked with three police forces, Warwickshire, Merseyside and Lancashire, and officers with the national intelligence agencies TruckPol and AVCIS, throughout April and May, and their information led directly to the recovery of the stolen goods. With results like this, soon every modern business entrepreneur will have a gum shoe watching his back.