Los Angeles partner Dennis Loomis authored an article, "The Crime of the Century: the Exploding Problem of Counterfeit Goods, and What Can Be Done," which was published in New Matter, the official publication of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of California (Volume 34, Number 1).
According to Loomis, "For most people, it is obviously wrong to shoplift a DVD movie or a CD recording, or to steal a pair of shoes. This is not a morally complex dilemma. But for many of the same people, the question of 'right or wrong' becomes murky when it comes to downloading a bootlegged copy of a hit song on the Internet, or buying an obviously counterfeit Rolex watch or Gucci handbag." In his article, Loomis aims to answer the question of "Where's the problem?," with regard to intellectual property and the purchase of counterfeit goods.
"Dealing in counterfeit goods is most definitely wrong, legally as well as morally," Loomis writes. "It costs legitimate businesses hundreds of billions of dollars in lost profits. It deprives local, state and federal governments of more billions in uncollected sales, income and business taxes. It directly generates and supports child labor and other sweatshop labor abuses around the world. It exposes the public to substandard, potentially defective and dangerous products, including pharmaceuticals, electronics, toys and many other categories. The profits—and they are hugh—support organized crime as well as global terrorist organizations."
Loomis' article goes on to explore
Loomis concludes: "Product counterfeiting . . . is a deadly serious economic and social problem, and the numbers indicate that the problem is growing. However, with the two largest cities in America, New York and Los Angeles, having identified the problem and implemented statutes and public education campaigns that enhance and expand the ability of rights owners and law enforcement to attack and punish the problem with the severity it deserves, we may be reaching a turning point. Hopefully the emerging focus on effectively combating product piracy will turn the trend line down in the foreseeable future. In the meantime, companies and entrepreneurs whose success and profitability turns on protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights, owe it to themselves to become educated about the problem of counterfeiting and the available solutions, and then to develop an intelligent and balanced plan to work towards that goal."
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