BEWARE - Counterfeit information for Global Knives & Accessories

Yoshikin, the manufacturers of Global, have also found many examples of counterfeit products on internet auction sites such as eBay, even though the sellers claim that the products are genuine and legal. The products may be cheaper but for good reason...they are vastly inferior, incorporating cheap steel, poor manufacturing standards and blades that will not hold an edge for more than a couple of uses. These illegal reproductions are often offered as a collection of knives in a black knife roll or case...so beware ! Recently, there have been a number of warnings published on this subject and now some auction dealers split these knife collections to sell them as individual items.

It should be noted that Global is an EU registered trademark, despite the fact that some counterfeit products have duplicated this protected trademark. Other reproductions may be labelled with 'Global Chef' or 'Global Professional', which have no association with Global Knives although every effort has been made to pass the reproduction off as a genuine product.

What is counterfeiting ?

Counterfeiting is the deliberate use of a false trademark that is identical with or substantially indistinguishable from a registered trademark. It is theft. Counterfeiting steals the identity of trademark owners and robs consumers of a number of things, including comfort, reliability and their personal safety. Trademark counterfeiting is often thought of as a victimless crime and that no great harm can be caused by the sale or purchase of fake products.

Why shouldnt I buy counterfeit products ?

Counterfeit goods put public safety at risk. By their very nature, fake goods are produced very cheaply and are not subject to the rigorous testing procedures that reputable manufacturers are required to carry out on their products.

Counterfeiting is big business

There is an enormous cost worldwide in lost revenues, damage to legitimate businesses and effect on employment. In the UK alone, the estimated loss to the economy has doubled over the last five years. In 2003, it cost us over 4000 jobs and nearly 10 billion, on which the VAT alone would fund several new schools and hospitals. Counterfeiting is a very real threat to the future of the many livelihoods that depend on the businesses of trademark owners including production workers and delivery drivers.

Links have been proven to other serious organised crime and has been known to finance drug trafficking. Many counterfeiters hail from foreign countries, such as South Korea, Vietnam, or Russia. They are frequently organized in a network of importers and distributors who use connections in China, South East Asia, or Latin America to have their counterfeit and imitation products made inexpensively by grossly underpaid labourers. Major criminals control much of the trade in fakes, using their existing smuggling and money-laundering networks to swamp the markets. In turn, global intelligence has connected these vast illegal profits to other serious organised crime, including terrorism.