On October 6, 2005, two significant raids were carried out with the assistance of officials from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) of the Ministry of Justice under the command of Mr. Yongyuth Srisattayachon (Commissioner-General of the DSI’s Intellectual Property Department) and Pol. Gen. Sombat Amornwiwat (Director-General of the DSI). The targets of the raid actions were an office in Bangkok and a factory in Rachaburi Province, approximately two hours west of Bangkok. At the office, the raid team seized a total of 6,976 counterfeit automobile parts and accessories bearing different famous automobile brands. Among these seized items, there were 1,759 counterfeit automobile parts and accessories bearing MERCEDES-BENZ, BENZ, Three-Pointed Star device mark, and other marks owned by Daimler AG. At the factory, the raid team seized a total of 51,761 items of counterfeit automobile parts and accessories bearing several well-known brands, as well as equipment such as molds for the automobile parts and block printing screens. Among these seized items, there were 13,419 pieces of counterfeit automobile parts bearing MERCEDES-BENZ, BENZ, Three-Pointed Star device mark, and other marks owned by Daimler AG.

On July 22, 2009, the Customs Department’s Ad Hoc Unit of Investigation and Suppression Bureau, led by Deputy Director-General Somchai Poolsavasdi, conducted a major seizure of more than 30,000 fake mobile phone batteries at Bangsaotong Port. The brands that were seized in this case included NOKIA, SAMSUNG, SIEMENS, and I-MOBILE. On the importation documents, the importer of these goods declared only one item: “Textile Piece Goods.” After using an X-ray machine to scan the goods in the container, Customs officers

found that the goods were covered with rows of cloth only at the entrance of the container.Further inside the container there were goods other than the rows of cloth, such as mobile phone accessories, glasses, electronic goods, etc. The officers then conducted a full search through this container and found many counterfeit batteries. 

Counterfeit mobile phones and batteries are very dangerous to consumers. If they are used for some time, there is a danger that the fake phones and batteries may explode because the batteries are not fused and can overheat easily. This could result in injury to consumers and/or damage to their property.

On August 30, 2006, Tilleke & Gibbins secured a major victory in Casio’s fight against counterfeiters by successfully conducting a raid against a company that was importing fake Casio calculators into Thailand and printing the CASIO mark on the labels in a Thai factory. After becoming suspicious about the shipment of calculators, Thai Customs officials alerted Tilleke & Gibbins but did not detain the shipment because no CASIO marks appeared on the body of the calculators.

Casio Computer Co., Ltd. then accepted our suggestion to conduct a thorough investigation at the importer’s factory to determine whether illegal activities were taking place. A raid was initiated on August 30, 2006, with assistance from police in the Economic and Cyber Crime Division, then known as the Suppression on Intellectual Property Rights Violation Team of the Central Economic and Technological Crime Suppression Division (ECOTEC).

Since the Fred Perry brand has quickly become very popular among both Thai consumers and tourists, many merchants in the local market have taken advantage of the situation by making copies of Fred Perry shirts and offering them for sale at lower prices. Fred Perry has been countering these infringing activities by conducting sweep raid actions on a continuous basis in the main local Thai markets such as Jatujak, Maboonklong, Pratunam, and Platinum. These actions are proving beneficial, as they have reduced the number of fake Fred Perry goods available at the markets.

Propagandist Co., Ltd., widely known as Propaganda, is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed design company based in Thailand. Products under the brand Propaganda are currently marketed in more than 40 countries worldwide. Some of the products enjoy such renown that they have been copied abroad and imported to Thailand as counterfeits to compete with the original Thai Propaganda products. Popular Propaganda items include the famous Mr. P Lamp, Mr. P Keychain and mobile phone accessories, Dog Lamp, etc.