JANUARY 2019 COUNTERFEITING
to make money. Stryszowski agrees. “Trade
in counterfeit and pirated goods is a low-risk,
high-reward business,” he says. “The expected
rewards for counterfeiters are likely to grow as
our economies become very innovation-focused,
and the share of economic value of products
attributed to intellectual property keeps growing.
This means the possible gains from ‘free-riding’
will continue to grow.”
Mooberry adds: “Counterfeit food is a growing
problem worldwide, driven in part by the
explosion of the digital marketplace. Anyone can
set up shop as a ‘legitimate’ salesperson online,
off ering foodstuff s for sale without much in the
way of regulation.”
Simon Harpin, UK policy manager at
electronics trade body, BEAMA, says that the
proliferation of social media has helped spread the
problem. “Online trade through social media has
certainly added another front to the war against
counterfeits,” he says. “It can work both ways –
buying counterfeit products is certainly easier
now and if someone buys online rather than via a
physical market then they can be harder to fi nd.”
...with growing solutions
Unless there is a clear sign that an item is fake,
most consumers would be duped by its looks.
Therefore, manufacturers must turn to more
generalised methods to ensure legitimacy. “‘Track
and trace’ techniques have proved highly eff ective
in combatting fraud in other industries like
pharmaceuticals,” says Mooberry. Examples of
this are receiving tracking numbers, being able to
see where the package is at every stage of delivery
and the ability to follow the delivery driver when
en route. “In the food industry, investment has
been limited to high-value items like caviar, where
producers use a universal labelling system to
prove authenticity. This approach has signifi cant
benefi ts, both in maintaining sustainability and
protecting consumers from the consequences of
counterfeit goods.” She believes it’s time to apply
the same traceability techniques to spices, meat
products, olive oil and wine, where counterfeiting
is an enormous issue.
Many social media ‘infl uencers’ highlight some
of the fake products they encounter online by
comparing them to the real versions in videos or
blog posts. Popular video bloggers have reviewed
knock-off s from discount sites such as Amazon,
Wish and eBay, making the younger generation
more aware of the problem. These videos show
the dangers of online shopping, with many
having gone viral, and mostly depict the obvious
mistakes that could only be seen after you have
paid, shipped and signed for what was bought.
One example is what was advertised as a pair of
trainers claiming to be from Yeezy, a premium
brand founded by rapper Kanye West, which
turned out to be a pair of slippers.
BEAMA argue that collaboration is key to
reducing counterfeiting. Harpin, also BEAMA’s
anti-counterfeiting project manager, says: “As a
trade association we do pretty much all we can
with the time and resources
available to us to prevent
people coming into contact
with counterfeits. We know lots
of manufacturer and supply
chain associations play their
part, and we would urge anyone
not involved in some sort of
anti-counterfeiting project to
do so, because working together
really does make a diff erence –
we have seized over 20 million
counterfeit electrical products
in the BEAMA project. However,
industry can only do so much;
we need authorities to enforce
the laws and regulations when
we give them evidence, because
with a counterfeit electrical
product there can be no
guarantee that it is safe.”
Stryszowski also says the
solution comes from awareness
and enforcement: “Success in
anti-counterfeiting depends
on two aspects. First, on the
eff ective enforcement of
existing regulations. Second,
on expanding of education and
awareness campaigns; not only
for the general public, but also
for the enforcement agents.”
Making up losses
The City of London police have
stepped up as said enforcement
agents to tackle something more
dangerous than just fi nancial
losses, as counterfeit makeup
was found to have substantial
health risks.
The City of London Police
Intellectual Property Crime
Unit (PIPCU) launched a
campaign in 2015 called ‘Wake
up – Don’t fake up’, urging
the public to be cautious of
fake beauty products and
their ingredients. The report
shows that some fake perfumes
were found to have urine in
them, as well as a number of
harmful chemicals, including
cyanide. They also found
that fake cosmetics such as
eyeliner, mascara, lip gloss and
foundation can contain toxic
levels of substances such as
arsenic, mercury and lead.
Not only do they contain
health risks, but they remove
substances designed to protect
your health: counterfeit sun
cream was found to have little
to no SPF, which is potentially
The UK is
the seventh
most aff ected
country by
counterfeiting
lowertiare /stockadobe.com
very dangerous for those
who lounge in the sun.
City of London Police
detective superintendent,
Maria Woodall, says: “Many
people don’t know about the
real dangers counterfeit beauty
products pose to their health.
Criminals are exploiting every
opportunity to fool customers
into buying counterfeits in
order for them to make some
quick cash – putting people’s
health, homes and lives at risk.”
Since its inception in
2013, PIPCU has suspended
over 50,000 websites that
sell knock-off s claiming to be
the real brand. This includes
22,084 clothing websites, 15,975
footwear websites and 3,591
sites selling bags, accessories
and jewellery. This is a huge
step in the right direction, and
puts a signifi cant issue at the
forefront of the minds of people
who can make a diff erence.
Dr Ros Lynch, director of
copyright and enforcement at
the Intellectual Property Offi ce,
says: “By working together we
can help protect consumers
from the dangers of counterfeit
goods and protect their
personal information when
shopping online.”
Although counterfeiting
is a growing problem for
manufacturers and the public
alike, eff orts to reduce the risks
are also rising. New statistics are
set to be published by the OECD
this year, which will hopefully
indicate the success of schemes
like PIPCU and BEAMA.
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