Audio equipment manufacturer Shure has played a key role in taking down a large-scale counterfeiting operation in China.
The criminal network, which had been manufacturing and distributing fake microphones, headphones and amplifiers, raked in over $1.7 million USD (A$2.6 million) in fraudulent sales before being shut down in a coordinated crackdown.
Shure first became aware of the counterfeit network in May 2023, when intelligence revealed that nine entities in China were exporting fake audio products across Southeast Asia.
The counterfeit items were being sold through more than 80 online stores, deceiving customers in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
Shure worked with intellectual property services firm Rouse and its strategic partner, Lusheng, alongside two other international audio manufacturers, to launch a legal response. Chinese authorities, led by the Guangdong Province Public Security Bureau (PSB), executed simultaneous raids in August 2023, seizing a significant quantity of counterfeit products.
Through forensic investigations, authorities discovered the operation was run by a trading company at the heart of the network, with financial records exposing sales of fake products from multiple well-known brands. Nearly $900,000 USD (A$1.4 million) of the counterfeit sales were linked to Shure-branded products alone.
The legal proceedings concluded in December 2024, with seven suspects sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to four-and-a-half years.
The court also imposed fines totaling $1.1 million USD (A$1.7 million), and Shure, along with another affected brand, reached settlement agreements for additional financial compensation.
