On-Line Counterfeit Goods Market Doubles to £800m:

Figures compiled by DLA Piper and our on-line intellectual property specialists show the estimated value of counterfeit goods passing through on-line shopping sites in the UK to have doubled in just 3 years and is now over £800 million and is estimated by CSi to exceed £1 billion in the next year.  The products most at risk of infringement and typically removed from on-line sites include high fashion and cosmetic items, consumer electronics, vehicle spares and sports goods. But nothing is safe from the counterfeiters. As well as the counterfeiting of brands and trade mark infringements, research also shows that on-line auction sites are fast becoming the market place of choice for the grey marketers.  And the internet is not just the electronic version of a car boot sale. Many fraudulent sellers are earning in excess of £20,000 per month trading in bootlegged and counterfeit goods with some top sellers earning in excess of £1 million per annum.

Simon Levine, joint global head of DLA Piper’s technology, media and commercial group commented, ″Counterfeit goods dilute the value of brands, undermine the integrity of auction sites and ultimately cost the UK economy millions of pounds in lost income. But this is not just about protecting brand owners – it’s for the consumer’s benefit also. If you invest your trust and money in a brand you want to know you’re getting the real thing, whether that’s make up and cosmetics or domestic appliances and children’s toys.  Buyers most certainly need to beware – you may think you are getting a bargain, but you could be funding organised crime or buying faulty or dangerous goods in the process.  “Equally, this is not just a problem for the auction sites to address alone. Consumers need to report illegal or counterfeit trading and copyright owners need to work together with their legal representatives to take more active steps to police their brands on-line.”

James Ramm, Director, CSi said,"We call it E-fencing. Selling stolen, counterfeit or grey market goods. In hard times it's attractive for the buyers, but it's just as dangerous for them as buying something from a stranger in a pub. The quality is often terrible, sometimes dangerously so and there's no comeback. For the manufacturers and owners of the real product it is a serious issue. Their brand value is being eroded by cheap knock-offs. We use some very smart software to track the infringement of brands on-line, scanning both the image and textual descriptions. This is hard edged detective work in cyber space. And when we find illegally offered product, we are in a unique position not to just take the offending advertisements down - we have taken down £35 million worth in just last year - but also to do more conventional detective work, wear out some shoe leather and put together cases for prosecution in the real world." 

CSi offer the most effective and comprehensive brand protection services available. Fully automated or integrated with existing systems, CSi's investigative software provides a comprehensive and highly cost effective solution to brand protection problems. 

For further information call the investigative team at CSi on 020 7553 7960.