Episode 14: Operation Pangea 17, Lululemon suing Costco, and China protecting IP

2025-07-28

Operation Pangea 17 from Interpol was released. See this fancy graphic. Sven looked back at the previous 10 years of Operation Pangea and these results are record breaking by any measure. 50.4 million doses of illicit pharmaceuticals worth USD 65 million. The largest operation to date had been $11 million in illicit medicines. Arrest of 769 suspects and the dismantling of 123 criminal groups worldwide. In total, law enforcement agencies ...

Operation Pangea 17 from Interpol was released. See this fancy graphic.

Sven looked back at the previous 10 years of Operation Pangea and these results are record breaking by any measure.

50.4 million doses of illicit pharmaceuticals worth USD 65 million. The largest operation to date had been $11 million in illicit medicines.
Arrest of 769 suspects and the dismantling of 123 criminal groups worldwide.
In total, law enforcement agencies worldwide launched 1,728 investigations and issued 847 search warrants targeting criminal networks engaged in the illicit distribution of pharmaceutical products. 93 per cent of the illicit pharmaceuticals seized lacked regulatory approvals from national health authorities.

This trend is being driven by the widespread promotion and availability of these medicines across social media and online marketplaces, creating lucrative and relatively low-risk opportunities for criminal networks selling low-quality or counterfeit products.

Lululemon is suing Costco over design patent infringement of several of their clothing products. While you could read the suit yourself, we recommend this video from fashion designer Joe Ng that explains the types of patents you can have, and how trade dress works. Joe Ng says the craftsmanship is not as good on the Costco product.

China is now entering the world of IP protection because their brands are fighting off fakes. China has brands and now Intellectual Property to protect! Phones by Huawei, Drones by DJI, My favorite portable batteries from Anker, and New electric cars from BYD.

According to the OECD, China remains the source of most counterfeits in the world, so this could be a very topsy turvy time. Our bottom line is that there’s never bad news in adding a new ally country to the world of brand protection.

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