China police raid Bluetooth plant

A factory said to have been making Bluetooth-branded products without authorisation has been raided by the Chinese authorities in Shenzen, the industrial centre on the mainland across from Hong Kong.

All Bluetooth products have to go through a qualification programme to ensure that they work with rival makes, so there is no guarantee that illicit products will connect reliably.

More than 20,000 finished and unfinished products were seized in the raid, according to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group which governs the technology.

The raid on the Shenzhen Bluebird Hi-Tec Co Ltd was carried out by trade officials, the Public Security Bureau, and the local Economic Crime Investigation department, according to an SIG statement.

Shenzen City has grown from a village to a metropolis with a population estimated to be up to 13 million, including the surrounding area, in the space of 20 years. But respect for copyright and other trade laws has not grown at the same rate.

"As in any country, the fight against IP [intellectual property] and trademark infringement will be a long-term and challenging one," said Mr. Daoxin Ou, head of the local Trademark & Advertisement Department. "But one thing is certain, China is committed to the fight."

But it was the interoperability issue that most exercised Nick Hunn, chief technology officer of Ezurio, which specializes in embedded Bluetooth and Wifi products. “Interoperability is key for many of our customers, as it opens up connectivity to thousands of other Bluetooth devices”, he said.

He praised the SIG for tightening up interoperability testing and being more active in policing its use.