It’s getting harder for the makers of counterfeit Zippos to fake
people out.

Several recent raids in foreign countries have aided in the
recovery of thousands of counterfeit Zippo lighters.

Zippo Manufacturing Co. legal counsel Jeff Duke said the most
recent raids occurred in the last several weeks, and that several
hundreds of counterfeit Zippo lighters were recovered from small
retailers in Vietnam and Thailand.

The fake Zippo lighters are primarily manufactured in China,
Duke said, and then distributed through retailers elsewhere.
Because the most convincing counterfeit Zippo lighters are made
mostly in China, officials find a higher number of them
concentrated in the nearby countries in Southeast Asia, he
said.

Duke said counterfeit lighters range from “very cheap, obvious
fakes” to “higher-quality replicas.” It’s those higher-quality faux
Zippo lighters that have Zippo executives hot under the collar
since they cut into profits and compromise collectors.

He said 18,000 counterfeit lighters were seized at a
manufacturing facility in China recently. Raids at the retail level
– like those in Vietnam and Thailand – typically yield several
hundred lighters. Even the smaller raids, however, discourage the
retailers from dealing in counterfeit products, he added.

In China, the focus is on manufacturers and wholesalers. Zippo’s
fight against counterfeiting has been backed by several
politicians, including U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., U.S. Sen.
Arlen Specter, R-Pa., U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and State
Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, to name a few.

Oftentimes, Duke said, the problem with putting a stop to the
production of fake Zippo lighters is not with the U.S. government,
but with the governments in other countries. Backing from local
politicians, however, aids Zippo executives with communications in
their efforts.

He went on to say that more of the higher-end fakes have popped
up in the last year than ever before. As a result, Zippo has
stepped up efforts recently to seek out and censure the production
of counterfeit lighters, with “significant success.” Zippo has
recently increased spending to combat the counterfeiting of its
windproof lighter, he said.

Zippo doesn’t just go after lighters made to look like a Zippo,
complete with a fake Zippo logo, Duke said, but also lighters made
that infringe on the trademark design and shape of a Zippo
lighter.

A raid occurred in Portugal some time last week, however. In
Portugal, 22,000 shape-infringing lighters not using the Zippo
name, but which were “direct copies” of the lighter shape, were
brought to Zippo’s attention by customs officials in Portugal.

Counterfeit lighters are not exclusively an international
project, however. Counterfeit lighters have been seized as close to
home as Atlanta, Ga., he said.

“We’re spending an enormous amount of resources and time
battling this,” Duke said.

Peterson and Specter both visited Zippo’s headquarters on
Barbour Street in August of 2004 to assist with the fight against
counterfeiting in China. U.S. Department of Commerce Assistant
Secretary William Lash initiated Peterson’s meeting with Zippo
executives that summer after purchasing counterfeit Zippo lighters
himself on a trip to Moscow.

Lash reported at that time that he contacted Zippo officials to
ask if counterfeiting was a big problem, and when he found out it
was, he hit the books. When he confronted the Russians, he said,
they blamed the problem on the Chinese.

At that time, Lash explained that the production of 20,000
counterfeit lighters could cost one Bradford resident employed at
the Zippo plant their job.

Zippo Presidents and Chief Executive Officer Greg Booth said in
2004 that Zippo’s business was reduced by one third between 1995
and 2001, due largely to counterfeiting.

The Associated Press reported in October of 2004 that the Bush
administration had announced a crackdown on international companies
making counterfeit American products like Zippo lighters.

In February of this year, the Stop Counterfeiting in
Manufactured Goods Act was passed by the U.S. Senate and sent on to
President George W. Bush for his approval. Bush signed the measure
in March, making the bill a law.