Molten cracks down on fake balls

More than 200 fake basketballs with the Molten brand were confiscated from three Divisoria stores in a recent raid conducted by the Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crimes Division of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), signalling a serious crackdown on retailers trying to pass off counterfeits as genuine products to unsuspecting buyers.

The three stores were described as sports boutiques engaged in marketing, selling and distributing imitations of the Molten basketball models GL7 and GG7 which are used in the PBA, FIBA, World and Olympic competitions. The genuine basketballs are made of leather. The sellers offered no major discounts for the goods, making it appear they were the real thing.

Brandishing a court-issued search and seizure warrant, the CIDG swooped down on the stores Mix Sports, Jianwang and Plus Sports and took away over 200 basketballs worth about P500,000. The CIDG conducted simultaneous raids in a surprise operation.

Molten’s Philippine distributor Sonia Trading went after the counterfeiters after receiving reports from buyers that the basketballs bought from the Divisoria stores were quickly discolored and damaged. “Though similar at first, the skin of a fake ball peels off easily and the markings and black channel lines are different,” said Molten representative Atty. Raul Allado. “Discoloration and change of texture are often observed in a fake ball even without heavy usage.” The authentic Molten basketball comes with a two-year factory warranty and is sold inflated to avoid deformity. Fake basketballs are often placed on store shelves in deflated form.

“The operation signals the beginning of a vigorous campaign by Molten by and through our government authorities, to rid the market of fake Molten products which continue to proliferate to the prejudice of the unknowing public,” said Allado.

The trigger point was the deluge of complaints received by Sonia Trading from customers who bought fakes at the original price of the real balls, thinking they got the real thing. Sonia Trading was also concerned of the losses caused by the widespread accessibility of pirated basketballs in the open market.

According to Allado, the CIDG submitted the confiscated balls to the Intellectual Property Office in its storage facilities for custody pending their presentation as evidence in connection with the cases set to be filed against the owners of the three establishments in violation of R. A. No. 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code.  Charges of unfair competition will be filed by Molten through DB Law Partnership.

“We want to identify and proceed against the source of these fake basketballs,” said Allado. “Once and for all, we want to rid the market of fake Molten products which continue to proliferate to the prejudice of the unknowing consuming public and in stark defiance of the present Administration’s drive for transparency, honesty and integrity in our various industries and concerns.”

Molten basketballs have become extremely popular since they were adopted for official use by the PBA and all FIBA-sanctioned events like the World Championships and the Olympics. FIBA has used Molten basketballs since 1982 and made the revolutionary 12-panel, two-tone model its official basketball in 2004.

The top-of-the-line 12-panel Molten basketball was introduced in the Philippine market in 2005 and is the undisputed No. 1 seller in the market. Molten, which is based in Hiroshima, produces over 4.5 million balls of all kinds a year. About 150,000 leather, synthetic and rubber basketballs are manufactured in Molten plants in Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and China a month. To prevent copies or near-copies, Molten acquired patents for eight possible combinations or permutations of the 12-panel basketball.