Food Brand Piracy: Fighting Food Brand Counterfeiting In India Necessary

“Food” what does this word speaks? The word is enough to describe the one of the most valuable part of our life or should I say it’s the basis of our life. If there is no food there is no possibility of life and food and hunger makes a person do many things. It’s a simple answer to the question that why we work that is to earn money and why we earn money because we need to survive and food is an important element of survival but when we see the current scenario there are thousands of food brands which are available in the market and they guarantee the best quality in whatever they sell like biscuits, ice- cream, rice, lenticels, sugar, salt and the list goes on. We also look for brands in these food products because they assure quality which is hard to find in the loose food items sold by the vendors or general retail stores but do you think that the pirates are not smart enough then let me clear it that they are way smarter than the poor consumers because they know very well how to manipulate consumers and especially their target are the unaware lot of the consumers.

Very many food brand owners and consumers both are very troubled because of the fake food brands available in the market. The consumers are troubled because the quality they look for, is not available and also feel cheated as they expect something else than what they get, they are cheated on both levels of monetary as they pay for something else and they get something else and health levels because the fake products uses low and degraded quality of products which directly and adversely affects the health of the consumer. The brand owners are not directly affected by the brand piracy but are indirectly adversely affected as they have their name at the stake. Their brand name is misused and they lose their reputation which leads to loss of customers and further loss of business and money. So we can clearly see that there is a two way loss and these losses can’t be compensated.

The question which comes to our mind after reading this is that then how can we not become a victim of this brand piracy and how can we fight counterfeiting in India? The answer is quite simple which is we need to take precautions rather than looking for the cure.

Both consumers and brand owners need to be aware about the market. While the consumers should keep a full check on the trademarks they use and should check the trademark, the packaging, the maximum retail price, the manufacturing date, the bar code for the product etc. thoroughly before buying where as the brand owners should keep on promoting awareness about their trademark and product in order to keep the consumers well informed about their brand and food product so that the consumers can easily distinguish between the fake and genuine products  which can help in maintenance of quality standards and help both the brand owners and customers to fight against the losses which could occur in future.

Apart from these steps to be followed as a precautionary measure they can also complain for the same if they encounter any such mishap of fake food packaged products they can report the same on the online portals which help in providing a platform to both the brand owners and customers so that they can fight against these pirates and Brands and Fakes is one of such reliable and well received online platform.     

Understanding Geographical Indications (G.I)

Geographical indications are fast emerging as a popular trend in the field of Intellectual Property Rights as they pertain to the protection of the qualities and attributes of a product originating from a specific geographical region which holds the ideal condition to aid the production or growth of the commodity. A geographical Indicator helps the producer or manufacturer of a product to distinguish his product as unique and separate it from similar competitive products and also establishes goodwill for the product which fetches prime price. However Geographical Indications also bring with them a host of economic benefits. According to a Survey conducted in 1999 in the European Union it was found that agricultural products registered as GI’s accounted for up to 10- 15 % Premium price and 5- 10 % for Non-Agricultural commodities.

The concept of Geographical Indications is not new but in fact is said to have originated in the 19^th Century. On an International level, the legal framework pertaining to Geographical Indications is laid down in Article 22 of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) Agreement. Article 22 directs its member countries to provide the legal means necessary to interested parties in order to secure their GI’s. According to the  TRIPS agreement GIs are defined as indications that  identify a product  as having  originated within the geographical territory  of a member country which may also be a region or locality contained in  that territory, wherein a the quality, reputation or any other specific characteristic of the commodity can be without a doubt attributed  to its ‘geographical origin’. Article 22 provides protection that covers three areas ; It provides Protection against the usage of indications which may be deceptive or which may mislead the general Public, It Provides protection against using indications in a way that would amount to unfair competition and thirdly protection when it comes to invalidating trademarks holding within them indications that may mislead the public.

Geographical indications help in isolating products that originate from a particular geographical location and create goodwill for the product. It has also immensely helped to fight counterfeiting in India.Geographical Indications have many other significant functions depending on the usage of the indicator and how it is ultimately perceived by the consumer. The first function is origin based, the designation provided to the commodity indicates its origin and its relation to that geographical area. The second function relates to quality as the geographical indications signify the unique attributes associated with the product solely because of its geographic point of origin and assure consumers of its high quality along with a satisfaction guarantee. The third function is investment and advertising based, Geographical indications protect the investment of the manufacturer as they render the product unique and also aid in the promotion and advertisement of the commodity. The fourth and most important function is that GI’s protect the culture of a particular territory as the preserve the age old traditional manufacturing process and the overall cultural signature of the product.Geographical indications also help to distinguish between fake and genuine products

In India the primary legislation related to Geographical Indications is the GI Act which was brought into force from September 15^th, 2003 onwards and has been pivotal to granting GI status to many commodities and also extended the scope of this particular area of Intellectual Property Rights. A central government registry for Geographical Indications has been established at Chennai which has nationwide jurisdiction and acts as a platform where GI’s may be registered. The most significant distinction between the Indian GI Act and the International TRIPS Agreement is that the protection offered by a country by means of Geographical Indications is not restricted only to wines and spirits. The Act grants discretionary powers to the central government and gives it the authority to decide which commodities can be protected under GI status. However it is worth mentioning that the registration for geographical Indicators is not mandatory in India.

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.