There's an interesting report here from the Balita.com lifestyle website about a bust that was conducted in Manila, netting a total of 11,769 assorted counterfeit Louis Vuitton products that were worth $3.5 million!

You can read the full report at http://balita.com/?p=1206

One thought that springs to my mind when I read stories such as this (well, two actually!).

Firstly - great, got rid of a load more fakes. Yippee!

Secondly - although it is all well and good going after the sellers and distributors of these items - shouldn't LV be working at pinpointing the actual manufactruers of these fake items and getting them shut down?

Now, I'm not innocent in the ways of the street - for sure I'm aware that LV will have a full operation going after these guys, have already considered the need to do this in order to seriously dent and impair the fakes industry - but what of the law behind it?

Until draconian laws are introduced where the real people responsible for the manufacture of the fakes are imprisoned and have all their assets stripped from them and their family so that they or anyone else are too scared to rip off items - LV and luxury companies with goods that are open to being copied will always be fighting a holding position at best!

In the words of all good college professors - Discuss!