Public urged to be wary of fake ‘Caterpillar’ products

United States-based Caterpillar, Inc. recently issued a warning to local buyers of Caterpillar-branded personal products that they may not be buying "the authentic US-made product despite the expensive price tag on the items."

Caterpillar lawyer and spokesman Gilbert Reyes of the Poblador, Bautista and Reyes Law Offices said these products include heavy-duty shoes, shirts, caps, belts, wallets, and the like.

Caterpillar issued the warning in the wake of several civil and criminal charges it filed against a local businessman for alleged product and brand counterfeiting. Reyes said the Caterpillar-branded personal items flooding local shops and malls "are not manufactured nor sold by the owner of the internationally-famous brand."

Caterpillar, Inc. of USA does not sell these items in local outlets, Reyes said, adding that the firm has not authorized any local representative to market its famous product line of personal items. A few of the authentic items are available only in selected duty-free shops, he said.

Reyes said the US firm decided to issue the warning to local consumers in the wake of reports that the locally available items are exorbitantly priced.

The copied Caterpillar heavy-duty shoes, for example, are price in the range of P3,000 to P4,000. He said this is almost the price for the authentic US-made product, which would sell for about $65 to $80.

"We just want to make sure our countrymen know that they are not buying the US-made authentic Caterpillars," Reyes said.

Earlier, Caterpillar sought the help of the Philippine government concerning the local menace of product and brand counterfeiting. The practice is a gross violation of intellectual property rights laws and results in unfair competition.

Caterpillar officials said the firm "cannot compete with local counterfeits who appropriate our brand name and design." They said the firm has invested billions of dollars in the design, building and promotion of the internationally famous brand "which others simply copy and paste on their product."

They said that while the practice shoos away foreign investors, it is even more unfair to local buyers "who are made to believe they are purchasing an authentic product." They also said the practice jeopardizes foreign investment generation and the creation of additional jobs.