(CNN) -- Apple was slow to act against the booming counterfeit industry in China and other Asian countries, according to cables obtained by WikiLeaks. The technology giant eventually organized a team in March 2008 to curtail the explosion of knockoff iPods and iPhones, according to an electronic memo from the Beijing embassy dated September 2008. Yet, three years after Apple moved to crack down on widespread counterfeiting and put pressure on China, progress has been slow. Gadget piracy isn't a high priority for the Chinese government, the U.S. reports and experts say. Members of Apple's recently formed global security team were recruited from Pfizer after they executed a series of crackdowns on counterfeit Viagra production in Asia, the report says.
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Apple is faced with mounting counterfeiting of its products in China
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The company recruited from Pfizer's security team after its success, U.S. cables say
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Despite efforts, Apple's plans have had limited success
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In December, Apple said it removed an application from its mobile store that let people browse @placeholder documents from their iPhones "because it violated developer guidelines."
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The fresh @placeholder documents shed new light on Apple's struggles with intellectual-property theft in China, but the subject hasn't completely flown under the radar.
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Last month, international news media were rapt after discovering that China is home not only to fake Apple gadgets but also to imitation Apple stores, which had many of @placeholder's signatures.
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It's the cost of doing business in China, where many @placeholder companies go for inexpensive labor and efficient industrial plants, she said.
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Apple's early plans to go after counterfeiters, according to a cable, involved first targeting offending retailers and street vendors; next, @placeholder would work with police to raid manufacturing facilities; and finally, the company would pursue online resellers.
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@placeholder's government declined to investigate a facility in March 2009 that was manufacturing imitation Apple laptops because it threatened local jobs, says a cable dated April 2009.