COUNTERFEITING Measuring return on investment
Tere is, of course, a cost involved with legal actions and raids. Similarly, different countries have different procedures and requirements when it comes to seizing counterfeit products, so it’s important to check in advance which costs or actions are required. Try to avoid kneejerk reactions when instances of counterfeit activity are identified; you’ll have spent time researching, mapping and prioritising your strategy for action, so it’s important to remain proactive and targeted in your approach.
You have to be realistic about the likely results, too. You may succeed in a factory shutdown or seize a massive batch of fakes, but that won’t be the end of the story. It takes prolonged action (and consumer education) to make a real dent against this type of organised crime. Shut down a factory in one city and it will likely pop up somewhere else; seize products at one customs port and the counterfeiter will try to find another route. But, 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.
Other techniques can be brought into play. Routinely modify the design or packaging of your products, for example, and the counterfeiter will
find it hard to keep up. (Tis also makes fakes easier for customs authorities and consumers to spot.) New technologies can also help, such as stamps featuring holograms that are costly to replicate.
Getting the right support
Finally, it’s important to work with a partner that understands the challenges that brand owners face in their battle to hunt down and act against counterfeit products. Make sure any provider you choose brings a clear and proven strategy, and expertise on the rules and requirements in key jurisdictions, the current threats and common channels for trafficking, and the costs and process involved at each stage of enforcement.
Te right IP provider will know, from experience, where you should start and end your anti- counterfeiting efforts, so use that knowledge to guide and assist you when taking your first—or next—step towards building an effective and measurable strategy for action.
Pauline Verheijen is a managing consultant at Novagraaf. She can be contacted at:
anticounterfeit@novagraaf.com
Pauline Verheijen is managing consultant, corporate clients in the Amsterdam office of international IP consultancy Novagraaf. She has extensive experience in IP law and practice, having previously worked as inhouse counsel for two multinationals, both in Europe and the US. In addition to her work advising clients on IP strategy, Verheijen specialises in brand protection, including the role of
anti-counterfeiting activity in
international business. You can find out more about Novagraaf ’s anti-counterfeiting services and expertise at
www.novagraaf.com.
www.worldipreview.com
World Intellectual Property Review September/October 2013 115
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