Ex-Supreme backs bill aimed at

Mary Wilson, a founding member of the legendary Supremes singing group, testified in City Hall yesterday about the damage that counterfeiting and piracy cause to the music and entertainment industry.

Wilson was among witnesses before the state House Judiciary Committee, speaking in support of a bill that sets stricter penalties for trafficking in counterfeit or pirated products.

"My support of [this bill] is not only as a performer, but as a mother and grandmother, concerned for the health and safety of my family," she said. Wilson, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard formed The Supremes, the most successful female singing group of the 1960s.

Witnesses told of the growing threat of shoddy and dangerous goods, ranging from prescription drugs to electrical products, fake designer fashions and sports jerseys to pirated music and movies.

"The criminals who manufacture and sell counterfeit goods . . . trade on the goodwill of those legitimate businesses and subvert our trust by passing off their shoddy, and often dangerous, imitations as the real thing," Wilson said.

State Rep. Rosita C. Youngblood, D-Germantown, who introduced the bill, said, "We cannot continue believing counterfeit products are harmless."

Nils Montan, president of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, said, "Counterfeits have infiltrated the markets for every conceivable type of consumer goods . . . counterfeiting has become a massive global industry unto itself, an industry that costs local, state, and federal governments billions of dollars a year in tax revenue, putting hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work and, worst of all, endangering the health and safety of everyone who comes into contact with them."

He cited a recent example of counterfeit toothpaste being sold in Pennsylvania that was suspected of containing a poisonous chemical.

"This legislation would send a clear message that Pennsylvania is not open for business to counterfeiters," Montan said.

"If your business is harming the citizens of Pennsylvania, hurting its legitimate manufacturers, you will face consequences and your business will not be tolerated." *