ANTI – COUNTERFEIT INVESTIGATION

ANTI – COUNTERFEIT INVESTIGATION

Counterfeiting is still rising as a threat to the society and economy. Counterfeit goods are common around the world and in all sectors of the industry. In the contemporary market, counterfeit goods are an international concern. Statistics show that these counterfeit products not only harm the global economy, but can also adversely affect the company's business. The rapidly advancing technology with the liberalization of the Indian economy has created an ideal market for counterfeiters to potentially misuse an existing brand value that can be created and respected over a significant period of time.

The loss caused by these counterfeit products to a brand or client may be financially incalculable and, for all other purposes, unbearable. The amount sold by street corner fraudsters and all other physical markets will soon be overtaken by counterfeits in the digital world. Brands are losing hundreds of billions of dollars per year due to fake or pirated content online. Brand hackers know that they can easily make money by copying stuff.

It also hinders the economic development of India. Therefore, it is relevant that when investing in and developing a brand, owners consider the impact of counterfeiting and develop a global anti-counterfeiting strategy to ensure a proactive rather than reactive approach.

Counterfeiting is not just a financial loss.Dangerous goods are those that cause direct harm to the health and safety of consumers. In contrast, the illicit trade in counterfeit goods is often associated with other serious crimes, such as money laundering and funding terrorist organizations.Counterfeiting became more pronounced during the covid-19 pandemic as the crisis opened new opportunities for counterfeiters owing to the strong demand for medicines, protective equipment and tests.

There is a great need for anti-counterfeiting services in India. This is due to brand imitation, where the fraudster tries to imitate the name, look, feel and image of another brand, which is very much in the public consciousness due to its popularity and services.

Here are some ways in which a counterfeiter goes about this:

• Cloning: This is a way to keep an original product and a stolen brand name of a big company. If there is no patent or trademark and absence of copyright, it becomes easier to sell clones at lower prices.
• Trade dressing: The fashion and the style of a competitor’s product are shamelessly copied, and the design isnot spared, barring a few modifications done by the counterfeiter.
• Product piracy: Here, counterfeiters try to put the same brand name as well as the logo of a famous brand on their products or apparel. Knock-off copies of famous brands are available in India. The counterfeiter tries to cash in on the hard-earned reputation of an established brand.
• Tech Leapfrogging: An established company takes quite some time to become well known, and many strategies are used to read the consumer market. If a rival brand waits it, out and steps in after the leading company establishes itself. In that case, the unfair advantage of having a pool of research and tech advances that are copied, and it is basically “standing on the shoulders of giants.”
• Creative adaptation: This uses the original content and builds upon it, or they adapt it for use in another sphere of work.