MANILA, Philippines - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) raided three retail outlets in Jose Abad Santos Avenue, Tondo, Manila and in Aurora Blvd., Quezon City engaged in the sale of counterfeit sewing machines and accessories bearing the registered mark SINGER of The Singer Company Limited.

Authorities said such use is likely to confuse, mislead or deceive consumers into believing that they are purchasing genuine products of The Singer Company Limited, when they are not.

Sixteen boxes of manual sewing machines were seized during the raid at 3 p.m. on Friday at the Uni-Class Sewing Machine Center.

The raid was conducted by agents of the NBI Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD) on the basis of search warrants issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court.

Prior to securing the search warrants, the NBI investigated establishments suspected of selling counterfeit Singer sewing machines after receiving a letter-complaint from the authorized representative of The SInger Company Limited.

According to NBI-IPRD, "The acts of these establishments in using registered Singer mark without authority from The Singer Company constitute infringement, which is penalized under Republic Act No. 8293, otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines."

The Singer Compnay Limited has been known by its trade name Singer for 158 years. It holds approximately 2,000 trademark registrations in more than 168 jurisdictions around the world.

In the Philippines, The Singer Company Limited also has several registrations for the Singer trademark.