NASCAR Files Suit In Attempt To Stop Counterfeit Merchandise

NASCAR recently filed suit in U.S. District Court in Charlotte "to seize counterfeit racing collectibles" in an effort to "limit knockoff T-shirts and hats by halting sales of unlicensed goods around NASCAR tracks," according to Erik Spanberg of the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL. NASCAR began "pursuing counterfeiters" in '01, and to date, 159,852 items -- including 2,435 from "recent Daytona 500 weekends," have been seized. NASCAR on average "canvases 12 to 15 race weekends per season." Motorsports Authentics President & CEO Mark Dyer: "I'm passionate on the subject because it steals from the teams, drivers, sponsors and licensees. It's tens of millions of dollars that are being lost." SMI execs "supplement the NASCAR counterfeit program with measures of their own." SMI President & COO Humpy Wheeler: "We're much more vigilant than we used to be. People know that if they get caught they're going to lose their stuff." But NASCAR Assistant General Counsel Karen Leetzow noted at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR has "five guys on the ground on a 3,000-acre site. So it's not as effective as it could be because the properties are so big." NASCAR spends $150,000 annually "on the enforcement program," and Leetzow added that "it's worth every penny" (CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/14 issue).