Essex Junction, Vermont (February 2, 2017) – Since the Revision-aided sting operation at last year’s SIA Snow Show in Denver, Colorado, Revision has elevated company efforts to eradicate counterfeit Revision products from the market. Revision is a world leader in integrated, purpose-built soldier solutions; all of the Company’s protective eyewear has consistently and unequivocally exceeded global military-grade testing requirements and has been proven in action around the world. Accordingly, Revision views counterfeit products as a direct threat to the integrity of the Company and, more importantly, to Revision customers, who depend on the high standards and protection of authentic Revision gear. Revision maintains all intellectual property rights on all Revision products—rights that are total and international.
“Revision will take aggressive, unflinching action to eliminate any and all counterfeit operations,” said Jonathan Blanshay, CEO of Revision. “It should be perfectly clear that Revision will not tolerate any counterfeit products that essentially duplicate Revision’s designs but not quality on the market—period. We created these products and it is simply unacceptable to have low-level con artists steal our property and profit from it, especially at the expense of our end-users—the soldiers and police who protect us each and every day.
“Revision will take any and all actions within our power to put a forceful and immediate stop to illegal counterfeit businesses and illicit knockoff products, using every legal means at our disposal to prosecute offenders with extreme prejudice. Revision has invested tens of millions of dollars in designing, manufacturing, testing and certifying our industry leading products, and we will not tolerate the outright theft of our intellectual property. Revision’s mission is to provide the very best protection to soldiers and we will stamp out anyone who attempts to undermine that promise to global warfighters. Revision will relentlessly pursue offenders and will not stop until all involved are brought to justice and put behind bars.”
This week, Revision again aided law enforcement in two successful sting operations against alleged counterfeit eyewear distributors. This is the second consecutive year that Revision has aided in a significant sting operation. This year, Revision, working in conjunction with the Dearborn and Ohio County Prosecutor’s Office in Indiana, aided in the execution of sting operations at two separate trade show events—on January 18th at SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Nevada and January 26th at the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Snow Show in Denver, Colorado—resulting in multiple arrests.
Warrants were issued for owners of two companies: Airsoft Wholesaler, Inc. (a California-based company trading as “Lancer Tactical”) and Guangzhou Yijia Optical Technique Co. Ltd. (a company based in Guangzhou, China trading as “PTide”). Both companies are accused of selling unauthorized counterfeit versions of Revision Military’s Desert Locust® goggles, and “Lancer Tactical” is also accused of selling imitation versions of Revision Military’s Bullet Ant® goggles. Revision has tested samples of products distributed by these companies and has verified that the counterfeit goggles from both manufacturers fail ANSI testing, EN166 anti-fog testing, MIL-PRF-32432 abrasion testing, and have V50 ballistic values well below Revision product standards.
Changqing Chen (aka Chang Chen), co-owner of “Lancer Tactical” was arrested on the tradeshow floor at SHOT Show in Las Vegas; the other co-owner, Changying Chen (aka Lily Chen), is still at large. The representatives of “PTide”—owner Chen Jiajun (aka Jiajun Chen) and sales manager Zhang Ping (aka Ping Zhang)—were both arrested on the SIA tradeshow floor in Denver. All four individuals face six felony charges: corrupt business influence, conspiracy to commit corrupt business influence, theft, conspiracy to commit theft, counterfeiting, and conspiracy to commit counterfeiting.
Last April, Revision’s Senior Director of Legal and Governmental Affairs, Greg Maguire, testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee investigating the impact of foreign counterfeiters, making numerous appeals and proposing concrete steps to representatives to curtail widespread illegal counterfeit operations. Additionally, Revision employs a full-time member of the Legal department staff dedicated to researching and tracking counterfeit manufacturers, distributers, and exhibitors.
Revision strongly recommends only purchasing from approved distributors and retailers. Visit Revision’s website for a full list of Revision vendors. To ensure customer safety, if there is any doubt about the authenticity of a product that is marked with Revision’s logo, or resembles a Revision product, please contact Revision directly to verify. For additional information, please contact Greg Maguire, gmaguire@revisionmilitary.com, or, Dearborn and Ohio County Prosecutor, Lynn Deddens, ldeddens@dearbornohioprosecutor.com. The fact that the defendants have been charged with crimes are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
