admin
Aleck Ncube, Intellectual property
COUNTERFEIT products, that is, any goods or packaging that bear a trademark that is virtually the same as one registered to an authorised trademark owner, are one of the most significant global threats to brands and those who hold intellectual property rights to them. They also pose significant risks to public health and safety, the economy, and even national security.
Given consumer and organisational dependence on branded products, virtually everyone is vulnerable to counterfeits and has a stake in preventing, identifying, and responding to their occurrence. The multifaceted nature of product counterfeiting calls for an equally multidimensional response that is both strategic and comprehensive.
Better information on the scope, scale, costs and impacts of counterfeiting and piracy is critical to demonstrating the value of intellectual property to the economy and society more generally. Government leaders and influencers with better information on the value of Intellectual Property (IP) and a better understanding of how counterfeiting and piracy undermine IP, innovation, economic growth and employment are better able to prioritise public policy measures to protect IP and to work against the harms of counterfeiting and piracy.
Since counterfeiting operates outside the law, estimating the exact level of counterfeiting and the harm it brings is extremely challenging. Illegal businesses do not report any information on their activities to any government agency and therefore measures of the size of illegal businesses, such as total illegal sales or the income earned by these businesses must be estimated by indirect methods.
Counterfeit and pirated goods can be found in almost every country in the world and in virtually all sectors of the global economy.
These products are produced and sold in underground economies or in markets where they go unregulated and escape normal tax and tariff payments. They expose consumers to health, safety and quality risks and impose costs on society at large, in terms of employment, crime and social services.
Counterfeiting certainly impacts legitimate businesses, causing lost sales, lower profits and loss of brand trust and value. However, in an interconnected economy, consumers and governments also suffer.
Governments see lower tax revenues and higher spending on welfare, health services and crime prevention. Consumers receive poorer quality products that are unregulated and unsafe. Moreover, as businesses suffer lower income and damaged brands, they may have to cut jobs and reduce investment leading in turn to lower economic growth.
Security labels can help brand owners thwart counterfeiters
Intellectual property theft is a serious international crime that has arguably reached epidemic proportions and continues to grow each year. This criminal activity is as complex, sophisticated, and hard to eradicate as illegal-drug operations. Not only does product counterfeiting rob hundreds of billions from the global economy but it also places the health and safety of the consumer at risk and funds organised-crime groups.
The trade in counterfeit products is a clear, persistent, and direct threat to our economies, businesses, and the health and welfare of consumers all around the world. Counterfeiting is complex in nature and combating it effectively is difficult. Rights holders face challenges at many levels. Given the complexity of counterfeiting, it is no surprise that there is no “recipe” or “one-size-fits-all” solution. Each rights holder must incorporate their “unique” requirements to achieve the customised intellectual-property solutions they need for their situation.
The power of this approach is that organisations are capable of achieving customised anti-counterfeiting solutions but in a more standardised, organised, cost- and time-effective manner. In short, they can reduce risk while ending up with a more effective anti-counterfeiting programme. There are no simple answers to this complex problem but programmes can be greatly enhanced by applying proven tools, techniques, and approaches in a structured framework.
One of the most critically important areas for rights holders in dealing with the increase in technological threats is to protect their brands through the use of high security labelling solutions. In order to combat counterfeiting activities, a company must establish an aggressive programme that is designed to protect its brand. Part of this programme must include physical anti-counterfeiting measures such as innovative security labeling technologies.
The ongoing battle between brand owners and counterfeiters has inspired a series of remarkable and innovative technologies to thwart their attacks. Security companies have continually striven to develop technologies and systems for defending intellectual property while counterfeiters continually try to breach their features.
In order to be effective, security labels must possess two key features. First, they must be readily recognisable as a legitimate label. Second, they must contain a number of security levels that are not easily replicated by counterfeiters. The main objective of any brand-protection programme is to balance authentication with effective and secure anti-counterfeiting measures.
There are critically important facets of a security-labelling system that must be considered prior to implementing a programme. In particular, the security label must be relatively inexpensive to produce on a cost-per-unit basis. The security label must be resistant to attacks by counterfeiters and not easily replicated. The security label must contain both overt and covert features. The security label must contain attributes that allow law enforcement and customs personnel to differentiate between authentic and counterfeit versions.
The security label must contain attributes that allow the brand owner to determine authenticity 100 percent of the time with 100 percent accuracy. In summary, as technology changes, rights holders need to be more vigilant with product security and look for cost-effective solutions that can thwart attacks from savvy criminals. Consumers should beware.
The online shopping boom has been accompanied by an equally large boom in counterfeiting. Zimbabwean consumers need to take commonsense steps to avoid purchasing dangerous imposter goods. Law enforcement must aggressively prosecute the criminals who traffic in and profit from counterfeits.
Aleck Ncube is an Intellectual Property scholar based in Bulawayo. Feedback on mobile: +263712374408 Skype: Matintas1 Twitter: @aleckncube Alternative E-mail: [email protected]
Online Reporter