Thousands of faux HDMI cables seized in a unmarried day in Taiwan

In a nutshell: A coordinated raid in most important Taiwan cities led police to capture a vast amount of merchandise bearing the "HDMI" logo without reputable authorization. If you don't know, HDMI is a registered trademark, no longer just a cable name.

According to reviews from local broadcasters, a massive police raid recovered three,037 counterfeit HDMI cables and different merchandise in only someday. Several dealers have been targeted in Taiwan's predominant cities on Wednesday, seizing items with an infringement "market cost" of over TWD$eighty million ($2.6 million).

HDMI is a proprietary multimedia interface for digital gadgets, and cable producers must pay the HDMI Licensing Administrator to get a right license to using the brand. While non-proprietary options consisting of DVI do exist, the HDMI brand remains extremely popular amongst each video fanatics and trendy purchasers.

A police captain, quoted with the aid of Taiwan broadcasters, mentioned that both clients and dealers generally tend to misunderstand HDMI. They use the HDMI logo as a not unusual moniker for the namesake connection cable, possibly ignoring that it is a registered trademark that producers can not exploit without spending a dime.

The HDMI Association held a briefing at Computex over the summer time to introduce their 2d-technology anti-counterfeiting certification label. Consumers are suggested to look for "respectable" HDMI labels, which consist of anti-counterfeit measures which include patterns, holographic elements, and QR codes.

Statistics mentioned by means of Taiwanese reports kingdom that between 2022 and August 2023, faux HDMI merchandise amounting to almost TWD$4 billion ($128 million) had been bought in the country. The market value of these unauthorized goods might possibly include the actual fee of the cables and licensing fines as nicely.

The HDMI Association said manufacturers and dealers of counterfeit products will be targeted by court cases. However, consumers should also be aware of the overall excellent of the goods they buy, as fake cables are frequently poorly designed or built and may even pose a capability fireplace or electric chance.

HDMI licensing packages offer requirements and recommendations that manufacturers need to comply with to supply first-rate merchandise to customers. A right HDMI cable must provide both an excellent, regular signal and secure connections for TV units or other multimedia devices. Access to the HDMI 1.3a specs is currently to be had at no fee at the HDMI LA website, whilst the contemporary specifications (2.1b) are most effective available via paid plans.