COUNTERFEITING Measuring the threat
Nonetheless, it’s crucial to start quantifying the threat to your business, your consumers and your bottom line before beginning any action. T ere are a number of services that can help in this respect, for example, web-scanning soſt ware that will identify unauthorised use of your brand names and trademarks online. Even by tracking the web for a short time, you’ll be able to get an idea how many of your products are being sold via unoffi cial channels.
How are the counterfeit products getting there? Who is manufacturing them—and where? How are they being transported and through which ports? T e good news is that many brand owners have asked these questions before you, and there are defi nite patterns in their fi ndings that will help you to tailor your eff orts.
Targeting and costing action
You can’t fi nd or stop every instance of counterfeiting; it would swallow up all your time, budget and resources. Instead, concentrate on identifying and mapping the biggest threats and the most common channels, for example, manufacturing
sites (typically, China, Hong
“CONTINUE TO ACT AGAINST THE SOURCE AND YOU WILL FIND, EVENTUALLY, THAT THE COUNTERFEITER WILL DECIDE THAT IT’S JUST EASIER TO MOVE ON TO SOMETHING ELSE.”
Kong, India, Turkey, the UAE, or home soil) and their distribution routes (generally, major transit hubs and international trade ports).
Recording your trademark rights with customs in your home country and relevant overseas countries will help offi cials spot and detain shipments that infringe those rights. For the best results, be as proactive as possible in your eff orts to educate those offi cials about your priority products, telltale signs
for spotting
counterfeits and details of who to contact if they have concerns.
To tackle the manufacturers themselves, you’ll have to fi nd the factories before you can coordinate enforcement action. T is can be harder in some countries than others, but a good start would be to look at those factories where you are manufacturing your products offi cially, as oſt en these can be the source of fakes too. Ensure your agreements make it clear that unoffi cial copies will not be tolerated, and conduct regular spot-checks to check for breaches.
If the counterfeits are being produced overseas, you’ll need to liaise with local agents in order to investigate the source, and involve local police and authorities. It’s generally easier and more cost-eff ective to work with a specialist IP fi rm to coordinate such action; especially as you progress towards a factory raid or legal action. We know from our time representing clients in factory shutdowns in China, that it’s important to have the right people on the ground to make sure that any planned action isn’t leaked in advance to the counterfeit organisation, or that the necessary paperwork doesn’t sit for too long on the desk of the relevant local authority.
114 World Intellectual Property Review September/October 2013
www.worldipreview.com
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