The danger of counterfeit hovercraft

The phrase “counterfeit goods” usually brings to mind fake designer handbags and knockoffs of expensive wristwatches. In recent years, however, the trafficking of counterfeit goods has expanded to products that threaten consumer health and safety – products such as medications, electrical components, aircraft and automobile parts … and hovercraft.

According to Brett Brenner, President of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, counterfeit products that appear to be exact copies of the genuine article are “the scariest type of counterfeit because the danger is within, and there is nothing on the outside to alert you that there might be a problem.”

Hovercraft manufacturers are increasingly experiencing this type of industrial and economic espionage. The World Hovercraft Organization’s Hovercraft Ripoff Report alerts consumers to counterfeit hovercraft on the market; for instance …

• Among numerous other offenses, Hi Tech International, S.r.l. of Gorgonzola, Italy posed as a Neoteric dealer then counterfeited the Neoteric Hovertrek™ and its patented components through an illegal process known as “splash molding”. HTI is now marketing these hovercraft copies as their own design.
• New Zealand’s Pacific Hovercraft NZ Ltd. reports that China Hovercraft Ltd., Shanghai, China (aka Lianyungang Supreme Hovercraft aka Shanghai Supreme Hovercraft) has committed offenses including unlicensed production/sale of counterfeit hovercraft and intellectual property infringement.

Startup companies such as these are threatening consumer safety by marketing these counterfeit hovercraft. As one example, even after their offenses against Neoteric, Hi Tech International, S.r.l. urgently tried to get help from Neoteric’s engineers to solve the problems suffered by HTI’s rescue hovercraft – life-threatening problems such as exploding fans.

Since hovercraft are increasingly utilized in rescue operations, such counterfeit rescue hovercraft pose a serious threat to the lives of first responders and to the lives of those they are tasked to save.

Our advice? Never buy a hovercraft before you thoroughly research companies to be certain you’re purchasing from the original, reputable, experienced manufacturer and not a counterfeiter. Your life could depend upon it.

To read more, or to file a complaint, visit Hovercraft Ripoff Report