New York partner Heather McDonald was quoted in the January 2009 edition of Harper's Bazaar magazine in the article, "The Fight Against Fakes."
McDonald, who helps coordinate a network to pursue people trafficking counterfeit goods and lobbies for tougher penalties against them, specializes in intellectual property enforcement and anti-counterfeiting litigation for Baker Hostetler.
The focus of the article is the ongoing fight against counterfeit luxury goods. According to the article, there has been an increase in "finishing" in the United States--the practice of legally shipping in generic items, then having workers, many of them illegal immigrants, stamp, embroider, or attach the logo or other identifying details.
"Anything that can be brought in blank is being brought in blank," said McDonald. "They can attach a Prada tag or interlocking GG on demand. And they are very indiscriminate. It doesn't matter if the design is from the brand or not. They put the logo on whatever they think will sell . . . The harder everyone works to stop the sale of counterfeit goods, the more inventive counterfeiters have to get. But no matter what we do, as long as there is a demand, there is always going to be a supply."