Nov. 2, 2006

Motorola has reiterated its concern over a proliferation of counterfeit accessories, particularly Bluetooth headsets, purported to be made by Motorola and reaching consumers in the United States and even worldwide.

Motorola warned that the counterfeits are cheap fakes and won’t perform as advertised.

Motorola’s concern comes as the holiday retail season gets underway. The company is the leading Bluetooth headset manufacturer. Its accessory sales have become a significant revenue stream for the vendor, its distributors and retailers.

Motorola’s Robert Levine, general manager for the vendor’s MobileME division, signed a full-page advertisement in this week’s RCR Wireless News print edition cautioning industry players about the fakes.

Levine specifically mentioned four Bluetooth models, the H500, H700, HS850 and HS820, and warned that making, possessing, selling or importing counterfeit goods, including fake packaging, is illegal.

Accessories vendors Tessco, Brightpoint, Brightstar, Superior Communications and CellStar included their support for the ad.

Motorola has established a Web site, Motorola.com/original, that provides tips on spotting fake merchandise, including headsets, batteries, chargers and cases.

The vendor also provides a form for consumers to report information on the source of counterfeit goods.

Online auction site eBay has carried a number of these knock-offs, according to user comments posted there alerting other buyers that the fake units are inferior and that Motorola will not service them.

Motorola is monitoring the site to shut down auctions of counterfeit goods, according to its Web site.

Source: RCR News