Since the program started, the WBC has brought about the removal of over 250 fake belts from eBay alone.Additionally, the WBC has alerted eBay’s, Instagram’s and Facebook’s advertising departments of the illegal activities of several merchandisers that have been selling and/or advertising counterfeit WBC merchandise through those sites.
The WBC’s ultimate goal is to permanently bar the owners of those pirate sites from operating through eBay and using eBay, Instagram and Facebook to advertise their fake merchandise and nefarious activities.
The WBC appreciates the efforts of WBC Exclusive original merchandise distributors for Europe , David and Fay Walker from the U.K., who monitor eBay and similar sites and report fake WBC belts to the Chief Special Counsel’s office for subsequent removal.
Counterfeiters have established their own websites focusing on the marketing and sale of fake, unauthorized replicas of WBC belts and other products from the boxing industry. For example, the site www.WBCBelts.com was using the WBC trademarks to legitimize their illegal sale of fake WBC belts.
The WBC’s approach against the operators of that site was swift and unequivocal. On December 11, 2014, the WBC filed a Complaint with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) against the owners of www.WBCBelts.com. As a result of the WBC’s efforts, in early March of 2015, ICAAN officially transferred ownership of the domain name www.wbcbelts.com to the WBC. By then, the infringers were selling fake WBC belts through www.allboxingbelts.com. Because the new name did not include “WBC” or any confusingly similar terms, the WBC couldn’t use the ICAAN process to try to force them to surrender that domain name to the WBC. Therefore, the WBC took a different route to halt the company operating that website.
The WBC Chief Legal Counsel’s office contacted the Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (DHIS) regarding the actions of the owners of both sites, which are one and the same. Because the WBC marks are registered in the U.S., the DHIS used its power to seize and therefore shut down www.allboxingbelts.com as of March 22, 2015. As a result of the DHIS’ seizure, any potential customers of www.allboxingbelts.com who try to access that site end up seeing the DHIS’ notice of seizure and a warning about copyright infringement. That site is no longer trading on illegal and counterfeit WBC belts.
Since that time, the WBC continuing efforts have resulted in the seizure and closure of www.greenboxingbelts.com which, like the others, was trading on WBC fake merchandise. We will continue our tireless investigation and efforts to stop the theft of its intellectual properties by unscrupulous thieves and commercial mercenaries. Among our next targets for legal action and closure, we have identified www.boxingbelts.ch and www.replicaboxingbelts.com.
The WBC is also working in dismantling the source of production of some fake belts , there are 2 pirate operations in Pakistan manufacturing fake belts and fake boxing gloves , branding them Reyes , Grant and Everlast . The government of Pakistan has been exemplary in cooperation with this task and he expect that www.boxingbelts.ch and www.replicaboxingbelts.com will be shot down in the near future.
