HONG KONG … Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation today announced that it is a lead Platinum sponsor of the 2010 International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property (IP) Crime Conference from October 19 through October 21 in Hong Kong, China. The fourth annual conference, co-hosted by INTERPOL and Hong Kong Customs in partnership with Underwriters Laboratories (UL), is themed “Working Together to Break Organized Crime.” Eaton will facilitate a special panel discussion on counterfeiting and consumer protection. Eaton’s participation in the conference also underscores its growing presence in the Asia Pacific region.

Eric Franks, Eaton vice president of power distribution marketing, Asia Pacific Region, will facilitate a workshop titled, “Health & Safety – Enforcement Strategies to Protect Consumers,” on Wednesday, October 20. The workshop will examine ways to maximize cooperation among global regulatory bodies as they work to combat counterfeiting and protect public safety. Eaton will share its best practices and insights from its global initiative to combat counterfeit electrical products.

“Eaton has implemented a zero tolerance anti-counterfeiting strategy that incorporates product technology enhancements, education, and industry-law enforcement partnerships,” said Franks. “The conference attracts some the world’s leading law enforcement experts and offers an ideal forum to share best practices. We are excited about the opportunity to meet with business and government leaders from Asia and around the world to exchange ideas and enhance efforts to protect consumers against the global threat of counterfeit products.”

Counterfeiting has been a grow¬ing problem worldwide for more than a decade and has increased exponentially over the past 20 years. Worldwide, counterfeiting costs global industries $600 billion each year. In 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that electrical prod¬ucts represented 13 percent of all counterfeit products seized – the second-highest total of any category.

The conference workshops are designed to engage and challenge all delegates to work together in sharing and developing cutting-edge strategies for defeating intellectual property crime at the international level. The crime conference was developed to bring together police, customs, prosecutors and regulatory agencies at the operational level to share and develop best practices designed to combat counterfeiting and piracy crimes. Additionally, the conference provides a unique forum which allows experts to attend, meet and network with international law enforcement personnel from a wide variety of agencies.

Eaton began operations in China in 1993. Since then, its presence has grown significantly in the country through acquisitions, joint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries. In 2004, Eaton moved its Asia Pacific headquarters from Hong Kong to Shanghai. Eaton currently has 27 operations with more than 10,000 employees in China.

Eaton’s electrical business is a global leader in power distribution, power quality, control and industrial automation products and services. Eaton’s global electrical product lines, including Cutler-Hammer®, Moeller®, Powerware®, Holec®, MEM®, Santak®, and MGE Office Protection Systems™ provide customer-driven PowerChain Management®  solutions to serve the power system needs of the data center, industrial, institutional, government, utility, commercial, residential, and OEM markets worldwide.

Eaton Corporation is a diversified power management company with 2009 sales of $11.9 billion. Eaton is a global technology leader in electrical components and systems for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton has approximately 70,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com.