Greetings all !

Scott Ritchie of UL gave a presentation along with discussion of UL's efforts against counterfeiters of product and the UL logo. Scott emphasized that UL takes all legal steps possible to prevent products bearing a counterfeit UL Mark from entering the stream of commerce. An estimated figure of $ 500 billion USDollars was given to illustrate the cost of product counterfeiting, which is approximately 5-7 percent of global trade. This is a huge, huge amount !

UL has established an aggressive program to fight this problem. It devotes more than $ 2 million (USD) annually to protecting intellectual property (legalese for fake products and markings). It is working closely with law enforcement officials and customs agents around the country. It conducts annual training for law enforcement at key North American ports.

Scott showed via power point, how to access the UL web site to get to the various areas covering counterfeit activity.

If anyone encounters a product that you suspect carries a couterfeit UL Mark, you are urged to contact UL via email at ( anticounterfeiting@us.ul.com ).

Scott closed his talk by stating that counterfeiting activity is a problem for all NRTL organizations, and that each one needs to take this activity seriously.

NEXT MONTHS MEETING will be at 130pm on Thursday 09/09/10 at TECO's Western Division Operations Center, West Sligh Avenue, Tampa FL.

motion to approve minutes!