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Electrical contracting industry allies are joining forces in a new, industry-wide effort to eliminate the rapidly increasing crime of counterfeit electric products in the United States—90+ percent of which are imported from China. Now reaching epic proportions in a $130 billion industry, it involves almost every type of electrical products—from wiring, switches and lighting to pirated Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) labels—in commercial and residential buildings. Counterfeiting is a crime that threatens the lives and safety of electrical workers and all U.S. citizens.

The new Anti-Counterfeit Products Initiative got underway with a panel discussion on Oct. 6 during the National Electrical Contractors Association's (NECA) Annual Convention and Trade Show at McCormick Place. This first joint panel was hosted by the NECA-published Electrical Contractor magazine, Bethesda, Md., and The Electrical Distributor (TED) magazine, published by the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED), St. Louis. The Initiative is endorsed by NAED, NECA and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA).

"Underwriters Laboratories Inc., like many other Intellectual Property Rights and Trademark owners, has seen a dramatic increase in the amount of counterfeited products and trademark labels on those products in the past, several years," said panel participant Robert Crane, lead enforcement manager, Anti-Counterfeiting Operations, UL, Chapel Hill, N.C. "For several decades, UL has integrated security features in many of its labels."

Crane said that more recently, holographic labels were developed to further thwart the piracy of UL labels with the first holograms introduced in 1993 for decorative lighting strings and outfits. Since the holograms were so successful, said Crane, in 1996 additional categories for products manufactured in China also required holographic labels. This year, he said more requirements have been implemented regarding the use of holograms along with a newer hologram technology including the newest gold holograms.

Crane estimates counterfeit China imports closer to 99 percent, and UL partnering with organizations including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Interpol, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) among others.