Hynix plans legal action against counterfeiters

Hynix Semiconductor Asia is reportedly facing problems of fake memory
chipsets that have swam­ped the Indian channel market from past few months. The
company is also in a dilemma about whether this might damage its brand value in
the country.

According to the company representatives in India, Sanjay Kaul, GM, Hynix,
“The counterfeits are sold at about Rs 100 cheaper than the original ones, and
hence are being consumed regardless of the quality and warranty. He also added,
“In the process, there is no warranty on the counter­feits and such chips have
reliability issues in the long run. This is damaging the brand name of Hynix in
the channel market.”

Kaul also mentioned the difference between original and fake chip. Fonts on
the counterfeits are deeper than on the Hynix chips. The back of counterfeits
bears circular markings by molding machines, while the original Hynix chips have
Korea imprinted on them. There is no location mark or equipment mark on the
counterfeit chips. Besides this, it is cheaper than the original modules. There
are minute diffe­rences between the original chips and the fake ones, which
leads to gullible consumers falling prey.

Hynix is planning to initiate legal proceedings against dealers engaged in
selling counterfeit chips. Hynix recom­mends specifi­c autho­rized distri­butors
in India including Abacus Peripherals,

eSys and Strontium Technology.