The Hindu Business Line : Mattel Toys takes action against counterfeiters

A raid by Mattel Toys (India) Pvt Ltd on manufacturers of counterfeit bags and apparel printers has resulted in the seizure of 16,000 Barbie stickers, 60 T-shirts, 18 printing screens, and 1,100 swatches bearing the impugned Barbie trade mark , its logo, and illegal impersonations of Barbie. The swatches were to be used for a range of goods including bags, kits, travel kits and stationery.Mattel Toys (India) is a subsidiary of Mattel Inc, a leading manufacturer of toy products. According to an official release, the raid was conducted after obtaining a Magistrate's order. The raids were conducted with the assistance of the police. The units raided included Vaishali Screen Printer based in Mumbai Central, Nice Printer (Madan Pura), T.M. Printers and New Star Enterprises (Byculla) and Ashok Agency (Dadar).

The statement quoting the Managing Director, Mattel Toys (India) Ltd, Mr Sanjay Luthra, said: "Mattel Inc and its Indian subsidiary and genuine licensees are loosing crores of rupees in revenue, apart from the loss to the exchequer. This is the first raid that we have conducted in four years and will be acting against more such outfits. Mattel will continue to be actively engaged in the fight against product counterfeiting and, thereby, maintain a uniform quality control over their products across the world."

Mr Luthra added that the fake operations were huge and dwarfed the market for original Barbie apparel. According to him, the overall counterfeit market for Barbie apparel was estimated at Rs 52 crore. In comparison, Mattel Toys (India) was targeting a turnover of Rs 14 crore on the Barbie line of apparel, he said.