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Industry News
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| Shure
Incorporated and Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG, the two leading
manufacturers of microphones worldwide, have joined together with
China's Administration for Industry and Commerce (AIC) to take a stand
against the production and sale of counterfeit microphones. On
Wednesday, December 12th, 2001 officials from the AIC's Jiangmen and
Enping offices conducted raids at three locations of one counterfeit
manufacturer, and routine inspections on four other manufacturers
located within Enping City, China. Over 50,000 pieces of Shure and
Sennheiser counterfeit items were confiscated during the day's events,
making it one of the largest raids to be executed in pro audio history. "We asked Sennheiser to join us in this fight because we wanted to show a united front to counterfeiters and consumers alike, demonstrating that our industry will not tolerate these activities," said Sandy LaMantia, President and CEO of Shure Incorporated. "We embrace fair competition, which inevitably pushes the industry forward, but we refuse to stand by idly as people attempt to deceive our consumers with inferior versions of our products bearing our name." The December 12th raid uncovered large quantities of counterfeit Shure SM58, BG Series, and 14A models, as well as Sennheiser Evolution 818 and 835 microphones. All goods were confiscated pending an investigation by China's AIC, but inspection and testing revealed that the counterfeit goods had very poor sound quality and severe handling noise. "Product piracy is an immense problem which damages the reputation of the whole industry. Therefore it is only logical to work together with our competitors in planning and implementing effective action against a common opponent," said Rolf Meyer, President of Marketing and Sales at Sennheiser. "We have an obligation to provide our customers with a quality standard, and will do all that we can to protect that standard." |
