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.

An Efficient Fight against Counterfeiting in India

Presently, one issue that is troublesome at a global level is counterfeit. This vicious circle is so dense that it is becoming more and more difficult for any brand owner to work on any kind of anti-counterfeit activity.

Becoming aware needs to be the foremost priority that one needs to consider for fighting this venom prevailing in the society. Counterfeit is not just affecting the brands and brand owners but is directly affecting the consumers by making available cheaper quality replica products. Up till now, most of the patrons have not realised that counterfeiting and piracy are capable of creating a menace to their wellbeing. At many instances, when people are aware of the presence of fakes, they aren’t able to distinguish between the false products due to the impeccable similarity to the original product.

Fight counterfeiting in India is a cause raised due to the alarming growth rate of the fakes present in the market. Though, the truth remains that counterfeiting is not invincible. A brand owner needs to be aware of his IP rights, that include trademarks, designs and patents, that  make available the ways to tackle the production fake copies. Nevertheless, to enforce such rights demands extensive plan.

There are various specialized agencies including BrandsandFakes that work towards the ways to stop counterfeiting. The priority lies in identifying the fakes. We have number of professional anti-counterfeiting forces and tools that help brand owners to spot and act in opposition to counterfeiting. We work along with a group of Volunteers, Brands, Investigators etc.

Fighting counterfeit isn’t a child’s chore; it is a battle that the society needs to fight together, hand in hand. People from different walks of life need to get together and battle against this evil. Intellectual property right plays a momentous function in our economy too; it encourages creativity, art and research of any form and allows the reinforcement of competitive positioning of individuals and companies in the economy. Counterfeited goods, ground a serious threat to the development of the economy. Many organisations make huge profits through forged designs and signs which are protected by intellectual property rights.

Counterfeiting and piracy are concepts which are generally used to indicate a violation of intellectual property rights, this means that certain acts are carried out without the consent of the intellectual property right holder and need to be stopped immediately. As individuals, what we really need to do is, focus and be aware; this will help the society to fight the battle against counterfeit.

The Fight Against the Pretense- Brands and Fakes

Living in an era where the fakes are as many as originals is not a child’s chore and protecting your brand against despicable forged items is another task.  Counterfeit is the biggest rogue that a brand can or has to deal with as it comes along with unimaginable complications and stress.

Many a time’s brands are unaware of the amount of fake copies of their products available in the market. This does not only mean loss of sale but also leads to loss of goodwill due to the contemptible worth of the fakes. Copies and fakes do not only restrict themselves to products but also to designs, logos, packaging, infect, all intellectual property.

Brands and Fakes as a global platform has taken the onus to assist in the fight against the counterfeit. We are an online podium in India offering, fake complaints protection services we also make available information on fake products, distinguish between fake and genuine products. It is a podium where brand owners and consumers are offered to raise their voice against second copy products, fake complaints, trademark fraud investigation, and other IPR compliance services hence acting as a dais that assists brands and fights for their cause. We can help take action against duplicates by help you recognise and act in opposition to the forged products existing in the market.

Brands and Fakes helps you get all Information on Fake Products required for taking action against them.  Our team of experts includes the leading professionals of the industry coming from assorted spheres of brand protection services, IT, content writers, branding, marketing, finance and legal to aid you with the best in class intellectual property right solutions for IPR compliances.

We need to realize that fake or more so inferior goods do not only hamper the brand image but also affect the economy on the whole.  The goal of Brands and Fakes is not restricted to a particular class; we cater to the society on whole by dealing with IPR issues from scratch. Our services include everything right from the information on fake to taking or assisting in taking action against them.  We will cater to your needs if you are a brand that has needs to discover counterfeit of its product available in the market or the consumer who has been cheated with a bogus product.  Let’s be aware and alert to fight this battle against forgery.

Intellectual Property Right Solutions- Ambiguous in our minds not under law

Every single day makes us realize that there are so many duplicates and copies existing in this world. Be it a copy of the DVD of our favorite movie or a name of an eating joint, sometimes nattily and sometimes disorderly designed to match the name and pattern of our favourite restaurant. What do we generally do in such scenarios? Ignore it? Or probably walk away laughing at the situation. But we must understand that there is much more to such copies or fakes than a hearty laughter.

A design, logo, trademark or such work is referred to as intellectual property. These intellectual properties are governed by IP Laws and matters related to them fall under IPR issues. IPR plays an extremely important role in almost every quarter while talking about any kind of intellectual property related to businesses and work of art. These also include investment and new venture decisions. Anyone who thinks about, analyses and produces any form of product, needs to have some kind of access to IPR related laws and rules to avoid conflict of interest with some other variety, not just at that point in time but also for future reference.

There are full-fledged businesses these days working towards the protection of brands and providing exhaustive services in cases of IPR infringement. Brands and Fakes is one such platform providing best in class brand protection services in India.  Brands and fakes essentially brings brand owners, consumers, IPR professionals and industry thought leaders together to fight forgery and all other violations related to IPR. It also provides entrée to consumers, volunteers and IPR professionals for capturing, validating and managing information on fake products & other IPR infringements. At Brands and Fakes, we use the power of internet, mobile and social media to manage information on violations related to IPR and instigate a course of action against fake products & violators. In addition to this, Brands and Fakes also provides you with all Patent related Services, trade mark related Services, Registration of designs and copyrights, Patent/ Trademark and copyrights related Agreements, Corporate Agreements etc.

For a layman or an ordinary consumer, differentiating between products from copies is an uncertain situation. There are instances wherein distinguish between fake and genuine products is not very difficult, which is in the cases of apparent disparity. But some brands have noteworthy similarity and it becomes very difficult to spot the difference in one go. Though, whatever the case maybe, copying another brand in terms of anything, be it design, logo, name etc amounts to IPR infringement. And it is the work of specialized agencies to investigate and collect data on IPR violations in India. Working towards achieving this goal are lawyers, investigative agents, agencies and a plethora of other people. At Brands and Fakes, we provide you all these specialisations under one roof.

Being an extremely competitive global economy, IPR issues in India are rising at an alarming rate. Copying or imitating a brand, piece of art, discovery etc without the consent of the owner is a crime under the IPR guidelines set out by our law. IPR in itself is a full-bodied subject. A license under IPR such as Trademark Registration, Copyright protection etc provides you with legitimate ownership of that product. On having the registration a brand manages to save itself from not just crucial and never ending court proceedings but also manages to create an image of a trustworthy brand. Moreover, it also provides monetary compensation and claim of damages.

As a brand owner, it is one’s duty and right to follow the guidelines of IPR and seek restoration of rights under the same in case of violation.

Where to Find Data on IPR Violations for Brand Protection in India

Upon becoming aware that your brand is being infringed by another person/entity using an identical or a deceptively similar name/word, the first action – after recovering from your first reaction of shock – is to find out information on fake products and brand. There are many ways to collect such information and different places from where such information can be gathered. The present article gives a brief insight about the two most important methods and/or places from where such data can be gathered.

The first resource, in this digital era, is the internet. There is, practically, no information which cannot be got from the internet – that is if you know how to phrase search strings and if you know in which websites you should look into. The internet, in relation to material about infringing products, has a plethora of websites which lets you gather valuable information and if not, which provides you with leads. Starting from the infringer’s own website, if any, there are other directory websites which provide a listing of products, manufacturers, distributors, types of products, pictures of products, addresses and places where such products are sold. Many a times, the manufacturers themselves approach these websites to enlist their entity and product in order to advertise their products. These websites may be found by a single click on ‘Google’ when you type the infringing product’s name, to begin with.

Going further, in the event the infringing entity is registered as a limited company, the website of the Registrar of Companies provides a detailed set of information about the type of Company, its financial magnitude, information on its directors, year of registration, etc. all of which is very valuable information in the event your action to protect your brand(s) leads you to a legal proceeding.

Aside from the internet, is the good old way and probably, the most effective one still, is the physical investigation which is carried out by employing an experienced investigator who visits the place of the infringer – manufacturing facility, office premises, distribution office, warehouse, etc. – and collects as much information as possible including pictures, receipts and samples of infringing products.

While, a brand owner might not be able to directly do all this research and investigation, it is possible, and in fact better, for them to approach entities which provide brand protection services in India. These entities are well experienced with the places from where data can be gathered and also in the process of investigation, which provides brand owners with a great amount of information about the infringing product(s), thereby, allowing them to prepare and proceed with their actions against such products.