India’s challenge to brand owners

Perfidious imitation of a brand by traders to sell their own products and services, generally understood as counterfeiting or piracy, can affect not only the profitability of a company but also public health and safety.

[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”1″ exclusions=”3,4″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow” gallery_width=”600″ gallery_height=”400″ cycle_effect=”fade” cycle_interval=”5″ show_thumbnail_link=”0″ thumbnail_link_text=”[Show thumbnails]” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]Pirated or counterfeit which more often than not are substandard, affect the goodwill and reputation of rights holders, expose consumers to safety and health hazards and have a deleterious impact on government revenues. Misunderstood to be a victimless crime, with fakes being simply a cheap alternative purchase, counterfeiting is a threat to enterprise as well. The growth of the internet gives brand owners the opportunity to project their presence far and wide relatively easily and cheaply, but also offers the same opportunities to counterfeiters.

This article was published in Managing IP’s Brand Management: India 2009.

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