Fuji Xerox  appointments 
Fuji Xerox Australia (FXA) has announced the successful seizure of $2m of counterfeit toner products in Hong Kong. The seizure, involving customs and excise officials from multiple countries, resulted from the investigative work of an Australian covert operator retained by FXA to seek out and expose counterfeiters operating in Asia. The businessman that was supplying the counterfeit goods out of Hong Kong now faces a large monetary fine and jail time. As well as these criminal proceedings, he will also face a simultaneous civil prosecution brought by Xerox Corporation in Hong Kong.

Phil Chambers, FXA managing director, says, "Xerox Corporation and Fuji Xerox, based in Japan, approached us in Australia for assistance to locate and bring to justice the counterfeiters operating in Hong Kong. We recruited a covert operative who was responsible for this seizure.

"The counterfeiting of toner cartridges is a problem that faces the entire printing industry and something all manufacturers must be vigilant in fighting to help protect the ultimate victim – the customer who is paying for an original product but receiving a sub-standard fake.

"We are telling the Australian public about this latest raid in order to alert them of the dangers. This particular counterfeit toner has not been found in Australia yet. However consumers should be on the alert when buying cartridges from aftermarket suppliers."

The counterfeit toner was identified after shipments of the product caused damage to Tektronix Phaser 780 printers in North America. Illegally branded with Xerox and Fuji Xerox trademarks, the products appear identical to genuine toner cartridges. However, the counterfeit toner cartridges deliver poor equipment performance and inferior print quality. The cartridges concerned were reported to be prone to leakage and to suffer high cartridge failure rates and in the case of this specific batch would potentially damage equipment in which it was used.

Ramsay Moodie, FXA director of Corporate Affairs, says "Over the last year, Fuji Xerox and Xerox has been involved in three key raids that have seized in excess of $15m worth of counterfeit product. These latest seizures underscore the efforts we take, on a worldwide basis, to protect our customers from counterfeiters."