Brand
Thieves Cost $210 Million in 2005: Counterfeit & Piracy Report
Released on
= September 11, 2005, 11:48 pm
Press Release
Author = Gieschen Consultancy
Industry = International
Trade
Press Release
Summary = In the first 6 months of 2005, counterfeiters stole more
than $201 Million (US Dollars) from brand and IP owners then attempted
to steal another $162 Million before being caught, as reported by
Gieschen Consultancy. Intellectual property theft (copyright and
trademark infringement) now accounts for 23% of all incidents of
counterfeiting.
Press Release
Body = Monday
September 12, 2005 -- Calgary, Canada -- Based on worldwide counterfeit
enforcement activity (investigations, raids, seizures, arrests,
charges, convictions, sentences, civil litigation) for the first
6 months of 2005, as
reported through the DOPIP Security Counterfeit Intelligence Report,
1,690 incidents valued in excess of $3 Trillion (US Dollars) were
analyzed from 89 countries.
The top 10 countries
reporting incidents of intellectual property violations:
1. USA, 158
incidents, $119 Million (USD) seizures and losses.
2. India, 51 incidents, $2.6 Million.
3. UK, 31 Incidents, $27.7 Million.
4. Philippines, 17 incidents, $16.0 Million.
5. Canada, 16 incidents, $2.3 Million.
6. Malaysia, 12 incidents.
7. China, 11 Incidents, $5.0 Million.
8. Italy, 7 Incidents, $7.4 Million.
9. Malta, 9 Incidents, $2.5 Million.
10. Nigeria, 7 incidents.
The top 20 countries
pursuing all forms of counterfeiting and pirate activity (documents,
identification and intellectual property):
In summarizing
the activity for the first half of 2005, Glen Gieschen, Managing
Director of Gieschen Consultancy stated "Counterfeiting in
the first 6 months was focused in four primary areas, financial
instruments, goods & services, identification, and other documents.
Financial instruments account 39% of the incidents which include
currency, bonds, checks, credit and debit cards. Goods & services
account for 36%, which include brands (trademarks) and copyrighted
goods such as CDs, DVDs, handbags, shoes, shirts, medication, alcohol,
vehicle parts, cigarettes, etc. Identification represents 17% of
the incidents such as passports, drivers licenses, birth certificates,
social security cards, etc. The final area of concern is other documents
and packaging which accounts for 8% and includes event tickets,
certificates of authenticity, books, degrees, transit passes, etc.
The largest
area of growth has occurred in intellectual property theft which
accounts for 23% of all incidents such as pirated works (copyright
infringement) and fake goods (trademark infringement). Given the
magnitude of the problem, more than 355 brand and copyright owners
choose to track down the counterfeiters, build cases
for prosecution, and assist law enforcement personel in raids. Due
to the significant resources used in these investigations it is
not surprising that they yield significant seizures of goods, 40
million items in the first half of 2005, and detail descriptions
of the operations past sales, 802 million items sold valued at $210
Million.
The market for
counterfeit and pirated goods is also increasing as a result of
the Internet which provides a number of advantages over traditional
sales and distribution channels. Through the use of spam, internet
auctions, retail sites, chat rooms, and peer to peer file sharing
services, any type of item can be sold. One of the greatest advantages
the Internet provides is anonymity, whereby the buyer
has little or no means to verify the legitimacy of the seller. The
next problem occurs when the quality of the goods and authenticity
of the items is questioned, usually when the items are delivered.
Another challenge is ability of the seller to move the site quickly
or set up a new one under another name and domain. All of these
factors spell frustration for brand enforcement personnel who need
to first
locate these sites, verify the items are counterfeit, then identify
the entities and individuals involved. For example, a search on
Google for "Louis Vuitton" yields 3.5 million hits which
is nearly impossible to sift through. In this situation, investigators
use automated software to search and spider the Internet for sites
which sell counterfeit items. However in many cases, it is not cost
effective to pursue small retailers or individuals who are posting
a single or small number of
items on sites such as eBay. In this manner, the Internet varies
greatly with physical locations selling to individuals, such as
flea markets, boot sales, and street vendors who sell their goods
directly to the consumer and in the vacinity of other vendors. A
raid of the entire area of Canel street (New York), Silk Alley (China),
Newark Market (UK), or Luzhniki market (Russia) can search 20 -
50
vendors, large and small in a matter of hours, yielding Millions
in counterfeit goods. Unfortunately, the ability to investigate
and raid a number of vendors in cyberspace is more difficult and
costly."
About Gieschen
Consultancy
Gieschen Consultancy, provides counterfeit intelligence analysis
and security research relating to documents, products and intellectual
property. Gieschen Consultancy educates clients regarding counterfeiting
issues, and assists in developing anti-counterfeiting, brand protection
and enforcement solutions. For more information visit http://www.gieschen.com/.
About DOPIP
SCI Reports
DOPIP is a powerful source of information regarding illegal activities
such as counterfeiting, forgery, product tampering and diversion.
It provides breaking news reports and analysis relating to document,
product and intellectual product security. Security technology providers,
enforcement agencies, trade organizations, and brand owners will
find this information indispensable for detection, deterrence and
prevention.
As a member of the DOPIP Security Counterfeit Intelligence group,
you will be supporting a global education campaign to raise awareness
of counterfeiting and piracy issues.
Standard DOPIP (Document, Product and Intellectual Property) Membership
- $295 USD per individual. This membership provides access to a
number of resources which include the daily Standard DOPIP SCI Report
which monitors more than 5,000 news and
information sources daily for relevant information. In addition,
limited access to monthly counterfeit research data will be provided
and you will be invited to contribute content to the monthly DOPIP
Security Counterfeit Intelligence global press releases.
Premium DOPIP
Membership - $835 USD per individual. This cost includes all of
the features of the Standard membership, plus additional monitoring
of 11,000 print news and information sources daily for relevant
information.
For more information visit http://www.goldsec.com/Security_Updates.htm.
Web Site = http://www.gieschen.com/
Contact Details
= Glen Gieschen
Managing Director
Gieschen Consultancy
Glen@Gieschen.com
Phone 403-256-5680
Calgary, Alberta Canada
2025
