Bangalore: In a bold and decisive move aimed at curbing the sale of non genuine cartridges and other peripherals, police recently raided the premises of a dealer with two large consumable shops in the Fort area of Mumbai. The shops were raided on 10^th January evening in a swift and well co-ordinate police action with over 12 policemen as part of the raid party. The dealer was arrested along with an employee of his and charged under the prevailing laws of the land with counterfeiting and violating intellectual property rights and subsequently remanded to judicial custody. 6000 refilled cartridges were seized and the refilling unit was shuttered. A massive illegal racket which was catering to large parts of west and central India was terminated.  In an effort to send a strong message of zero tolerance towards the sale of fake cartridges the police in different parts of the country have stepped up their co-operation and efforts to arrest and terminate such practices.

Earlier in October 2012, police in Chennai raided the premises of a well established IT dealer and arrested him for selling fake cartridges.  The dealer, located at Anna Salai in Chennai was raided and was caught with 235 nos. of fake T5852 Epson cartridges. The owner was later arrested by the police from Triplicane Police Station. The police acted with a sense of urgency once the complaint was filed going ahead with the raid.

A spokesperson at Seiko Epson Corporation said “We applaud the efforts of the Indian police to curb this menace and will whole heartedly assist and support the law enforcement authorities in all such crack downs.” He went on to say, “Epson takes great care to observe the law and regulations, and to maintain high standards of corporate ethics while at the same time expecting others to show appropriate respect for its rights. We will continue vigorous enforcement of our intellectual property rights to protect our innovative products against those who use Epson's patented technology, trademarks, and other intellectual property without permission.”

Seiko Epson Corporation says it will move swiftly to help enforcement authorities for such raids in future to protect its interests and to protect the business of its authorized dealers.