Fighting foreign fakes

'Great sums' lost to bootleggers of American pro sports gear
By Omar Millán González
UNION-TRIBUNE
January 12, 2008

TIJUANA – Manuel Díaz likes the San Diego Chargers, especially during the NFL season, when he sells about 30 Charger items per week to drivers idling in the lanes at the San Ysidro border crossing.

Many of the National Football League and Major League Baseball items sold in Tijuana and throughout Mexico are counterfeit – a savings for consumers but a financial hit for the professional leagues and their manufacturing partners.

Nearly 60 percent of all textile and clothing products sold in Mexico, including NFL and MLB merchandise, is counterfeit, according to a European Commission report.

The sale of unlicensed merchandise – from Prada purses to “Spider-man” DVDs to Shakira CDs – is common in Mexico. The nation is the third-largest market for counterfeit CDs, videos and clothing, after China and Russia, according to the European Commission.