Protecting your brand from imitation- You’re first priority

For a brand, the most important thing is its company’s brand name and goodwill. A brand owner does everything possible to protect or safeguard that, he/she acts in their utmost capacity to not let anything hamper the goodwill of the brand. As it is an apparent reality that lost reputation can turn out to be grave for any product. One of the ways that definitely can hamper the reputation of your brand is by an IPR attack on your company. 

Being on guard always and shielding your intellectual property is surely tricky, but not impossible. Since, you have spent all your energy and money into the development of your product, why should you fall back and suffer because of the imitator of your original product? They are the ones who in return yield profits by milking your research, using your brand development as a basis; get returns on the intellectual property investments made by you. And finally, by doing this, smudge your entire brand name. 

Brands and Fakes is one of India’s foremost intellectual property and brand protection investigator Our reputations is based on the creation and implementation of a plethora of arrangements, goods and services, all of which successfully categorize and get rid of Intellectual Property larceny and figure corrosion. We largely work as the pioneers for providing investigative brand protection services in the country. As Brands and Fakes, our know-how enables us to grant the clients with better-quality trademark in-use analysis nationally and globally, together with all of the relevant fine points such as the first use date and substantiation of up to date use, geographic capacity and ways of allocation, to commence.

Manufactured goods imitation processes persist to burgeon as more illicit manufacturers take advantage of high profits, the low risks of being wedged with never ending legal proceedings. Offenders along with financers, who finance technologically advanced, industrialized networks that engage in counterfeiting. Regrettably, the law and law enforcement officials lack the time, equipment and know-how to follow and stop forgery schemers in effect. In such and more cases we act as anti counterfeiting investigators for your company.

Wherever we go, any part of the world there are high chances that there will be some seller selling you designer products at half the price of the original item. This makes it apparent about the product being bogus.  But in many cases, it is very difficult to identify the phoney product since there are  professional graphic artists who willingly duplicate the logos and designs of famous designers, lack of knowledge on consumer’s side makes him believe he’s getting an excellent deal or the fake products being sold in high end stores which are difficult to be questioned. 

The worst part is that many people consider counterfeiting as a not detrimental misdemeanour. They feel no repentance when they procure fake items and feel it’s just a way of getting a great deal. What they miss out on realising is that forged products can also be lethal. You can definitely walk away by buying a counterfeited dress but what if you end up buying a fake medicine?

The consequences of counterfeiting to a brands name as we all know are toxic. Imagine a situation when someone is harmed using a product with your brand name on it. If you're grim about protecting your valuable intellectual property, we are here to help you. Our expert team will help you reach your goal of defending your brand.

Brand Counterfeiting Trends in India- Reasons, Repercussions and Remedies

Off late the Indian market has been bombarded with a plethora of goods that are counterfeit or fake in nature. This phenomenon however, is not sudden but in fact is a result of the imbalance between the growing demand for products, inadequate production capabilities and high competition. Another dimension that can be explored is the dawn of globalization and brand consciousness in India which has caused a widespread attraction towards brand possession. 

There are various push and pull factors responsible for the existence of the counterfeit industry globally and in India. The push factors would be the expansion of major international brands venturing into the Indian market and thus a demand for these goods is created. In addition, these products are usually highly priced leading to unaffordability on the part of the average Indian customer. The Pull factors would be the general feeling of a need to possess these highly priced articles but the inability to do so and the glamorous marketing and advertising of the said products. In light of these circumstances, the counterfeit industry poses as a lucrative alternative to the real thing and generally is not viewed to be wrong or illegal by the average customer as it is considered mutually beneficial. This trend however is a vicious cycle of demand and supply and the pillars of the thriving counterfeit Industry in India.

Product counterfeiting is a big business -- estimated to cost hundreds of billions of dollars each year. It impacts the economy in a variety of ways including consumers that believe they are buying authentic products, legitimate manufacturers that invest in safety and quality manufacturing processes, and retailers that want to provide safe, reliable products to their customers.Exposure to serious health and safety risks associated with counterfeit electrical products, pharmaceuticals, car parts, airplane parts, baby formula and over-the-counter medicines, etc.People that unknowingly purchase counterfeit products anticipating a bargain are actually paying an inflated price for an inferior product.

In order to counter the growing menace of IPR violations and Brand Counterfeiting a number of brand protection services in India have emerged. These agencies partner with IPR professionals and brands in order to ensure quality control and to curb the counterfeiting menace. One of the foremost leaders in the anti- counterfeit movement is Brands and Fakes. This agency works with its national network of agents who report any counterfeit product that they come across and report the said product following which Brands and fakes carries out an investigation and seeks to minimize or reverse the damage caused by duplicate brands. The Agency follows an incentive based program in order to motivate people to join the fight against counterfeit products. Other IPR investigators in India worth mentioning are TACT India, SGS India, and GCS Management India. 

Even though there a  number of agencies that work towards the eradication of the counterfeit product culture, their job is incomplete as long as people continue to ignore the associated health and other hazards of using fake products knowingly or unknowingly. Mass awareness generation and a total blanket ban on fake commodities is the need of the hour in order to secure a brighter tomorrow.

Fight The Enemy- help in Investigation on fake products

Counterfeiting has the highest growth rate today as an economic crime worldwide. It does not only threaten the economy of developed countries but also of the developing ones.  This venom is leading to damaging of new investments and also endangers community health and safety overall. The technological developments have led to an era where the counterfeited copies turn out to be better than ever. These days, vast arrays of items are counterfeited, including clothes, jewellery, DVDs, pharmaceuticals etc.

The spread of fake products in the market is happening in two major ways.  Conventional sales methods and internet sales, conventional methods are used to distribute the products directly into the market for sale and Internet Sales encourage buying without being able to touch and feel the items before buying them.

Brands and Fakes use the methodology to serve as a brand protection service in India. We use our network and work with you to spot counterfeit, swaps, dilution and other criminal activities at every stage of the supply sequence. Our inspection, scrutiny and authentication programmes, help minimise these risks of the prevailing fakes in the market. We ensure that you realise your brand promise across supply, manufacturing, allocation, operate and trade.

In addition we also help with the investigations on fake products to improving quality control, by complying with safety and environmental legislation. This in return helps to protect not only the seller but the consumer as well. 

We have a considerable familiarity of investigating the produce and sale of forged products. Products mostly under investigation include software, IT hardware, medical drugs, motor parts, other proprietary products and items etc.

We also coordinate with local and centralized law bodies to promote the enquiry as and when required. At many instances it is also practical to conduct a long term investigations at the time of manufacture or contained by the delivery sequence to spot the foundation.

Since its commencement, Brands and Fakes has undertaken a plethora of investigations across the country into sham products ranging from opulent items to smallest ones. Our motto is to protect the industry from the damage caused by forgery that we do by collecting information, carrying out investigations as well as providing professional advice and guidance.  Other than this, the colossal growth of the internet i.e. the digitisation has opened up new modes of distribution for counterfeited goods produced all over the world. As a response, we also take care of this through our team of professionals.

Whenever there is a distribution of fake products through the Internet, our team’s exclusive knowledge and understanding of Internet measures, language, public sale sites, user groups and e commerce allows us to successfully investigate the foundation of bogus goods. We understand that this movement is not a child’s chore but we also believe that if the society joins hands to fight this enemy of the social order, there can be nothing to avoid the world from the shadow of bogus products and forgery of brands.

Intellectual Property Rights; not just a term, but a shield for brands

Structuring and shielding a business brand is not a child’s chore. There are numerous facets that need to be measured in order to be legally protected at the initial stage itself. It is highly crucial to check if the brand name is free and available or else this may cause legal trouble later.

Registration of the trademark is critical too, though not a mandate by law, it is still a good idea to register your trademark; it acts as a shield incase of a legal issue that arises as it protects your brand name nationally. If not at the initial stage then sometime later one might expect to expand the business, which is the time when all this legal work comes into play.  

Also registering a Trademark in itself acts as a means of brand protection service in India. At any given point, whenever the business model plans expansion, to defend your brand against violation you need must register your trademark and follow other IPR guidelines as well.

When it comes to online business, getting a domain name is pretty essential. Even if the business is not strictly online and internet is just a medium to publicise the brand, domain name is needed for creating a company website.  It is a crucial factor to register the best before someone else takes it and you are charged extra for something that, if taken in time would have costed you the minimum.

Other essential quality of following the IPR guidelines is that it minimises the damage caused by duplicate brands, not only for the brand but for the people buying it as well. At an initial stage, one is not sure as to how the business design will widen. Despite the fact that any business is at a starting phase, there might be a day that sees exceptional prospects to expand the brand in not just India but across the globe. Hence, It is also important to have a brand identity that is well protected against infringement. For the same, one needs to make sure that the brand is protected against bootlegging of any kind. Originality is an essence of every successful business. Original quality and brand is an integral part of a progressive trade and economy. Hence, if not protected against infringement, the fakes might overtake by stealing the brand identity and creating duplicates that will hurt your brand image and reputation.

There are companies such as Brands and Fakes running successfully that help you identify and fight all kinds of IPR threats prevailing in the economy. Though, it is extremely important that in order to stop this venom of duplicity from spreading into the society, you follow and encourage the importance of IPR.