By Paul Pannone
In August eWedNewz gave a glimpse of what the new organization called the American Bridal and Prom Industry Association has done for the business and where they’re going. In an eWedNewz exclusive that digs behind the scenes we’ve discovered the efforts of the organizations is bringing some online crooks to their knees, as lawsuits and actions brought against them cause them to squirm.
In a candid discussion with the founder and head of the organization, Steve Lang, his confidence in an aggressive, relentless campaign against online crooks is building and working. According to Lang;
“We will be going for the court (hopefully) by September 14. The good news is that defendant’s are finding out they are being sued and are contacting our counsel to plead to be let out of the case. We will do no such thing and we will make each of the counterfeiters accountable for what they’ve done. We are making progress and people are joining every day the ABPIA organization. I am very pleased with the progress on many fronts. Not only are people joining the efforts, but they have pledged support as we move into the future to stop the counterfeiters and to move on projects such as securing health insurance for the industry. I sent you an e-mail that summarizes how PayPal in China is cutting off counterfeit sites and this is also another good sign. Once we win in court we will turn to Homeland Security, United States Customs, Visa, MasterCard, UPS, FedEx or anyone else in the supply chain that helps get these counterfeit goods into the United States and Canada.
It has been a long fight and it is not over yet but I am totally confident we will be victorious. The women’s formalwear industry is not the only area being affected by counterfeiting as so many industries are fighting this battle along with us. I believe our government will eventually get involved. They will have no choice,” says Lang.
More and more sources are contacting this newZ source dropping a dime on websites they feel may be engaging in illegal activities, asking us to check them out and follow-up. Again, Lang gives the organization’s stance on the topic in a very terse way;
“If they sent this is an e-mail basically soliciting business using the intellectual property of American companies, they are counterfeiters. The images they show on the sell sheets are US companies for the most part or companies that do business in the US and own the intellectual property,” says Lang, plain and simple.
Vanessa is the latest to solicit American sources that have turned them in for investigation. Expert sources viewing the information from Vanessa say they recognize the images; some from the Allure collection.
According to their Linked In profile Vanessa Bridal is a leading manufacturer of bridal gowns and wedding-related products located in the city of Zhongshan, South China, an area known as the largest producer and exporter of wedding dresses worldwide.
The company is strategically situated in close proximity to the major export cities of Guangzhou and Hong Kong, effectively enabling us to serve bridal designers and retailers across the globe.
Through established retail partnerships, Vanessa Bridal’s gowns and accessories are currently being marketed across the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Russia and Brazil, and we are continuing to expand our reach internationally.
While no laws have been broken by Vanessa or hundreds of companies like them– only because laws do not yet exist– the efforts of the American Bridal and Prom Industry Association is trying to change that.
30% of an ongoing eWedNewz poll says the chances of beating online piracy is fair; 22% feel the chances are excellent, 20% say it’s impossible, 13% say the changes are good and 9% say the chances are poor. What do you say?
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2012
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