The truth of the matter is, nobody really knows just what the value of counterfeit sales is around the globe each year.
A number of very provisional figures for 2014, currently being debated, range from $206-$300 billion U.S. globally.
These are, of course, amounts of money that are incomprehensible to many small, medium and even many large-scale enterprises. The danger with that is that it can mean they somehow assume that the risks of counterfeiting only apply to household-name branded goods in the top retail value segments like luxury items.
In fact, such a view would be very complacent because the counterfeiters and fakers around the world will target almost anything, of any value, providing that they believe there is a substantial margin in it for them.
So if you are producing goods that have a strong brand recognition factor associated with them, you may be a target for these criminals unless you take steps to protect yourself.
To give an example of why volume, high value and bulk sales are not prerequisite criteria for being a target of the counterfeiting gangs, it’s worth keeping in mind that many comparatively modest-value antiques are now actively faked all over Asia. In many cases, the global market for these products is relatively minor and relatively speaking, a niche marketplace. There is no high volume, high value or prestige associations involved.
Yet even so, the fakers have now virtually destroyed the market for certain types of genuine antiques, even though the market was relatively small to begin with, simply because collectors now no longer trust the product they are buying to be genuinely antique.
So, it really could it happen to you. You don’t need to be a big manufacturer and making large volume sales.
Take steps to avoid it by finding out more about brand protection Australia operations.
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