Forgive Them For They Know Not What They Do. Now Do They?

God has strange lodgers

Nick Squires reports for The Telegraph that 13 million pounds worth of counterfeit souvenirs was seized before the beautification of the late pope John Paul II.

The products involved were ""family packs" of plastic rosaries which they said could be dangerous because they did not pass European safety standards."

The assumption is that the counterfeit goods originate from China: "The goods are believed to have been shipped from China to a port in northern Europe and then transported to Italy in trucks." Read Squires article here.

Catholic News USA wrote: 

"The 5.5 million items seized – which included fake Rolex, Omega and Cartier watches as well as pirate Mont Blanc pens – had a market value of around 15 million euros (S$26.9 million), it said according to an AFP report." Read here.

Another problem was that some people started to sell tickets to the beautification: "A further problem is reported by the Prefecture of the Papal Household, informed of the existence of "improper deals”, particularly via the internet, of services and tickets for payment The Household points out that there is no need of tickets to attend the ceremonies for the beatification. In addition, tickets granted by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, at pontifical ceremonies or general audiences, are always free, and no person or institution can demand any payment." Read more here.

Last year the Vatican denounced the deaths of 700,000 people because of counterfeit drugs. See here.

If the counterfeiters wrestle with their conscience they cannot use the iPhone app "Confessions" to get forgiveness according to the Vatican, read here.

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Reptilian reportage

IP Komodo may have a forked tongue, but he speaks the IP truth! He has trawled this weeks China IP news and the hottest topic appears to be sightings of IP Dragon, with fiery tongue, sighted in the vicinity and very unamused by IP Komodo's blogjacking. IP Komodo may need to beat a hasty return to Indonesia.

IP Trading a disappointment. Quanzhou Trademark Trade Center in Fujian has more than 5,000 trademarks on its books for sale, but "only 30 deals have been completed, despite the fact that many people have shown interest" Holding out for high prices, most trademark owners are declining offers. The news doesn’t tell us what is for sale.

Dilution difficulties. Swiss watchmaker OMEGA has sought to cancel a local Shenzhen company’s AOMEGA mark for cosmetics on the grounds of similarity, but lost at the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB). OMEGA has appealed to the courts. This is one of a constant succession of such well known mark dissimilar goods cases.

China patent stats increase! Domestic applications for invention patents increased 27.9 percent in 2010 from 2009, said a senior patent official here Tuesday. SIPO received more than 391,000 applications for invention patents in 2010, the world's second most, said He Hua, State Intellectual Property Office deputy director, at a Nanjing meeting of heads of local intellectual property rights offices. 74.9 percent were submitted by domestic applicants, he said.

Guest post by IP Komodo Dragon

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