SKF commences civil action over counterfeit bearings

In November 2011, customs authorities in China seized counterfeit SKF bearings on their way to Bearing International Holland. Later, during a raid on a non-authorised distributor in Austria in June 2012, the authorities seized counterfeit SKF bearings that were bought from Bearing International Holland. At this point, SKF commenced a civil action against Bearing International Holland for infringing its intellectual property rights.

In July 2012, during a raid on Bearing International Holland, additional SKF counterfeit bearings were found. Immediately after the raid, SKF contacted Bearing International Holland, offering to dismiss the case under certain conditions. These conditions included an undertaking from Bearing International Holland to inform their customers that they may have taken delivery of counterfeit goods, and to compensate SKF for legal fees incurred in following up the case. Initially, Bearing International Holland expressed interest in cooperating, but despite several approaches by SKF this did not lead to any satisfactory agreement, resulting in the current court action.

Customers who suspect that they may have taken delivery of counterfeit SKF products are advised to contact SKF to verify their authenticity by sending photographs and a copy of the invoice to [email protected].

Trade of SKF counterfeit products in the marketplace is a serious threat to end users, since the failure of an inferior bearing in a crucial application can lead to a serious accident. In order to safeguard authenticity, SKF recommends that customers source SKF bearings through its Authorised Distributor network. For further information, please contact [email protected].