COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS – A DANGER TO THE CONSUMER AND THE MANUFACTURER

In recent years, Russia has been literally overwhelmed by a wave of economic crimes, which, in one way or another, are associated with the production and sale of counterfeit or falsified goods. Counterfeit and falsified goods are a real threat to the economic security of the Russian economy as a whole and its individual components, including major manufacturers of world renown.

In our country losses of the enterprises suffered from actions of swindlers make not less than 3 billion US dollars annually. The main source of supply of products of dubious origin is the countries of South-East Asia. A lot of illegal products are imported from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, India as well as from European countries like Ukraine, Poland, Turkey and Bulgaria.

Fakes are produced both in clandestine factories and in legal factories during the night shifts. A characteristic feature of Russia is the location of most of the counterfeit production facilities directly in the country. Modern producers of counterfeit goods often use production facilities and technologies that are comparable in level with the equipment of legal factories. Quality counterfeit often does not differ from the original: only special knowledge and equipment can detect the difference.

That is why the high price of the goods today is not a guarantee that the consumer is buying the original product. Illegal activities in the organization of importation and sale of counterfeit goods leads not only to the loss of profit of conscientious market participants, but also to undermine their business reputation with consumers. The latter buy low quality products that do not correspond to the manufacturer’s declared characteristics and in some cases are harmful to human health. The physical danger of some fakes to customers is a serious threat to honest market players.

The greatest concern for law enforcement agencies are products used in medicine, especially medical equipment. In addition, noname batteries and explosion- and fire-hazardous goods are considered to be of a higher hazard class.

With the emergence of counterfeit significantly decline in sales of legally produced goods, which affects the owner of the trademark: reduce the number of loyal customers to the product, disrupt promotional campaigns, the company’s shares plummet in value. Because of this, foreign manufacturers, and after them domestic, invest a lot of money in the search and neutralization of counterfeit manufacturers. It is much more advantageous to detect and seize counterfeit products before they hit store shelves than to spend a long time restoring lost reputation.

In the past few years, major manufacturers in Europe and America have launched a real war against counterfeit manufacturers, making reasonable demands on Asian states to protect intellectual property rights. But counterfeit manufacturers are quickly adapting: it is not uncommon for a new product to be counterfeited before the original enters the market. Eventually, outdated unsold models have to be sold at a discount – and this is direct damage to brands by fraudsters. Do not think that all counterfeit products are handmade by uneducated gastarbeiters sitting in basements. Unfortunately, in Russia at the present time not only open markets and small stores are used for the sale of counterfeit goods, but also commercial sites of malls, small shopping centers, as well as online stores. It is possible to protect your brand from counterfeit goods on the market today only with the help of security experts, who have solid experience and a wide range of tools for preventing theft of intellectual property and identifying fakes at the earliest stages.

Such complex of measures which includes control purchases, search of distributors of counterfeit production, search of the enterprise-manufacturer are successfully realized by ITI-Holding Security Group of Companies which is rightfully recognized as one of the market leaders. In the case of signs of counterfeiting experienced lawyers of the ITI Group will help resolve the issue in the legal framework and recover the full extent of the damages. Resorting to an expert is the guarantor of the effectiveness of protection against counterfeiting, which is directly linked to the prevention and responsiveness of the whole range of measures up to the final result – the seizure of counterfeit. Every extra day of counterfeit on the market can cost the company a lot.

Summary:

1. Counterfeiting is a real threat for any manufacturer, because it leads not only to direct losses from lost profits, but also to loss of reputation.
2. The production and sale of counterfeit goods in today’s realities follows the same pattern as the production and sale of legal products. It is difficult to distinguish a counterfeit from the original. It is not uncommon for a new product to be counterfeited even before the original comes out on the market.
3. Protect the reputation of the brand, quickly identify and suppress the actions of fraudsters is possible only with a special set of competencies and tools. It is more advantageous to turn to security experts, such as the ITI Group of Companies