Brand Piracy A Big Threat - How To Prevent It

The surest way to avoid fakes , is to buy from known , reputed vendors.

Fakes are generally the work of those who want to make a quick buck ; no reputed vendor , who has built up a reputation after years in the business , will stake his reputation by selling fakes.

A second way to spot a fake is to look up the item on the net , get an idea of its price , and the authorised dealers. Authorised dealers will never run a risk by selling fakes ; nor will those who are selling fakes , sell it for its real price. Invariably , the dealers who deal in fakes depend on our greed and hunger to get impossible bargains ; the moment you see someone selling a Rolex for Rs. 2000 , you can be sure it's a fake !

What I am about to suggest is something that every brand manager should seriously look at. Before I put it across, I would like to take everyone back to the 80s when gold smuggling was a very lucrative option. The import duty on gold was so high that many smugglers earned a substantial living smuggling in gold without paying duties. Then in the 90s, the government reduced the import duty drastically, and wiped out the smugglers' raison d'etre. No need of expensive coast patrols anymore, because smugglers just didn't find any benefits any more! The government earned its share of duties, the citizens were happy too.

Similarly, if brands priced their products with low margins and focused on vloumes, there would be no piracy at all. If Microsoft prices its Office software at Rs. 750 a legal copy (with updates and support facility), no one will need to look for pirated versions. Same for all products - if we could buy PUMA at Rs. 100-Rs.200 range, why would we buy copies at Rs. 75?

There is no foolproof way to know the difference between a bargain and a fake, but labels and packaging can be revealing indicators. Look for missing or expired “use by” dates, broken or missing safety seals, missing warranty information, or otherwise unusual packaging. For larger purchases, such as mechanical or electronic equipment, seek reputable sellers and check serial numbers with manufacturer databases.

If you purchase medicine from a new vendor and it does not match the size, shape, color, taste, and side effects of your usual product, contact your pharmacist or the manufacturer to determine if it came from a legitimate source. You can also verify authenticity by comparing the manufacturer’s contact information with another product’s packaging, as addresses and phone numbers provided with counterfeit goods could be misleading.

Thanks Ms.Meena for the referral.

There is always duplicate/identical/counterfeit products in the market for the well know or fast moving products. There are dealers to sell these items and there are contractors to buy these products to earn money in the former case and to minimize the buying cost or for earning in the later case.

The packing and the labels used in the duplicate products will be similar to the original and sometimes it will be difficult to trace out which is original & duplicate by the end user, but the dealers/contractors know. Here the important points to be noted is the product batch nos and serial nos which helps to identify the truth. Or in other words the end user/buyer who have purchased the products in volumes should demand the certification from the manufacturer that the products are manufactured by us. But for one/two products this can not be sometimes applied. This will help to avoid using duplicates. 

Here I would like to illustrate an example that I have experienced.

Once the contractor supplied some duplicate materials of our brand to a govt. dept. On checking it had been come to the light. As a result the officer had instructed not to use this particular brand in view of duplicates/identical available in the market. This has been brought to my notice and immediately I have met the officer and seek reasons for exclusion of our brand. Having replied by the officer, I have claimed that this is who's fault and is committed  by the contractor. I have asked that for the fault of the contractor who wants to earn money, why our company is penalized?

Then the officer who is well known to me asked the solution to avoid the entry of duplicates. I have requested him that whenever you are getting our brand in your site to call us for certification. I have done it. Then after-wards supplying duplicates in our brand name had been stopped. As a manufacturer we know to differentiate from the identical. Hello friends just I would like to share with you. 

If you look into the facts. Counterfeit products are sold only for the Brands which are Priced on higher side.  On the other hand when you look in to Product range of (say for Example) Nokia - keeps introducing new models frequently in all price ranges.  A person who wants to buy an original Nokia hand set at an entry level cost of just Rs.1,200/- is able to buy these days.  It is understood that sale of mobile handsets in grey market has almost come to stand still excepting for some Korean & Chinese makes which are proven to be with less life. Nokia was able to sell at the reduced prices based on their effective planning and implementation of cost cutting right from sourcing of materials, logistics planning (JIT), production costs and dealer appointments.

Now it is clearly visible that Branded Products when they reasonably priced (keeping in assured returns of sale with increase in Sales) will definitely eradicate the Fake products similar to the Brand.

The easiest way for stopping brand piracy is to educate the customer about the differences one should notice while purchasing a commodity. Couple that up with the most expensive anti counterfeiting measures  (don't overcharge the customer - you will save more if you successfully implement these measures.)

I am from the printing and packaging industry and I can suggest at least 3 goods ways of foxing the counterfeiters and trap them in their own game.

Funny at it might sound, that is the only thing left to do. Because whatever stpes you take be it from registering your logo / design, creating unique brand identity, have exclusive brand stores, holograms etc., there will still be someone in some part of the world who will copy your brand. One of the ways to lessen it is by having a tough brand mnemonic which is not easily reproduceable. It can be unique fonts or a graphical property that makes it difficult to imitate.

Bar code & Halogram improve to countermand fakes. But, buyer need to know its genuineness also. Coupled with this, the producer can also issue genuine certificate with distinctive characteristic that can not be faked. As we have in currency.Virtually, everything is faked & pose a challenge to Brand markets. A distinctive bar code can also be appended in the labels. As I see , most of the valuable suggestions are given already here.

Companies can generate the awareness regarding brand and its piracy among people. There are many options for companies if they really feel that too much % of sales are effected due to piracy of their brands. like:-

1) Coupon with product - More advertise among population about the coupon with their branded products..

2) Toll Free Contact Numbers:- Mostly customers 'ld not take any step to stop piracy because they are not able to contact company in easy way. Companies can provide toll free number on their product for feedback or any query regarding their brand piracy.

3) Provision for online tracking :- Companies can make provision of online tracking of their sold product through Serial number or any specific number so that customer can check any time of their bought product of particular brand with company store...

Big Brand will always be copied because of price factor mostly in developing and under developed countries. I don't blame technically to those business man who make duplicate products as high demand for these products will always attracts this short of act in market. Now reducing the brand counterfeiting is absolutely possible first if proper law is being designed, implemented, reviewed and proper use of government machineries which may sound ridicules at this stage in our country but this is one solution. Secondly company should spent money to educate consumers regarding use of original products and its benefit which most of the companies don't do. Where there is demand there is supply, Therefore, it is always better to work on reducing demand and stop supply.