Crackdown on Counterfeiting Sought: One of the...

Crackdown on Counterfeiting Sought: One of the world’s leading makers of snowboard equipment asked Congress to crack down on counterfeiting, saying it loses up to $1 million annually to overseas companies that copy its boots. Burton Snowboard spends hundreds of thousands of dollars perfecting the design of its boots, but counterfeiters can make look-alikes cheaply and sell them under the company’s label, said Thomas McGann, executive vice president of the Burlington, Vt.-based company. He urged swift passage of a bill that would increase criminal penalties for trafficking in counterfeit goods and give law enforcement the authority to seize and destroy the goods and the equipment used to make them. Current trademark and patent laws are of little help, McGann said.