Global sales of counterfeits are growing at a furious 15 percent each year and have reached over US $1.82 trillion in 2020. This represents 3.3 percent of global trade (according to the OECD8), with e-commerce making up more than a quarter of that, according to the Global Brand Counterfeiting Report. The rise of digital channels facilitating the sale and purchase of consumer goods has indeed fueled a rapid increase in the trade of counterfeit products around the world. No retail products seem to be spared: from cosmetics to electronics, clothing and accessories, automotive parts, and even pandemic-related medical supplies. While we usually discuss the issue of counterfeiting in the context of large international groups, often in the luxury sector, with extensive brand portfolios, in practice, smaller brands may also be the targets and victims of this crime – with very high costs, too, for their business in the short and long run.
What are the risks – for the revenue, the business, the brand – associated with counterfeiting as it relates to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)? What can be done, realistically, to prevent fakes and to remove them after they appear on the market? What about e-commerce platforms: is counterfeiting a necessary evil?
Our guest is an expert in brand protection and practical anti-counterfeiting strategies especially as they apply to SMEs. Philippe Van Eekhout, a lawyer, is the CEO of ContrAtak, where he develops and implements impactful strategies to overcome counterfeiting- related issues, with a focus on serving SMEs. Prior to founding ContrAtak 15 years ago, he worked for LVMH Fashion Group as its Asia-Pacific anti-counterfeiting coordinator, and for the French company BIC as IP manager.
Every two weeks, on Tuesday, Brand & New gives the floor to inspiring individuals, with a 360-degree vision, to help brand owners, intellectual property lawyers, and marketing and finance professionals (and beyond!) stay curious and agile in an ever-evolving business environment.
This episode of Brand&New is sponsored by Wan Hui Da IP.
Brand & New is a production of the International Trademark Association
Hosted by Audrey Dauvet
Contribution of M. Halle & S. Lagedamond - Music by JD Beats
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT INTA.ORG
To go further:
About Philippe van Eeckhout (link to https://www.linkedin.com/in/contratak/?originalSubdomain=fr and https://www.plass.com/en/expertises/anti-counterfeiting)
Also of interest:
INTA’s 2021 Annual Meeting Virtual+: Enforcement and Anticounterfeiting track (November 17, 2021) (link to www.inta.org/2021AM)
INTA: Addressing the Sale of Counterfeits on the Internet (link to: https://www.inta.org/wp-content/uploads/public-files/advocacy/committee-reports/Addressing_the_Sale_of_Counterfeits_on_the_Internet_June_2021_edit.pdf)
INTA Fact Sheet on Counterfeiting (link to: https://www.inta.org/fact-sheets/counterfeiting-intended-for-a-non-legal-audience/)
INTA: Gen Z Insights: Brands and Counterfeit Products (link to: https://www.inta.org/perspectives/gen-z-insights-brands-and-counterfeit-products/)
INTA Board Adopts Resolutions to Strengthen Anticounterfeiting Enforcement (link to: