The distribution of fake products, counterfeits, and pirated goods has been an age-old problem in the Philippines. The counterfeiting and piracy problem is often present in new and emerging industries or amongst those with an established market. For as long as there is a demand amongst consumers, supply – to some extent – can be vigorously met by counterfeit trade. This has grown into an opportunity that’s been taken advantaged for a while. The market is foreseen to continuously grow through digital technology, making the distribution of online counterfeit goods a lot easier.
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is actively pursuing several reports of counterfeiting and piracy. In 2018 alone, a total of PHP23.5 billion worth of counterfeits were seized by the agency. The top 5 counterfeit products were cigarettes and alcohol, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, handbags and wallets, optical media, and footwear. It doesn’t help that the counterfeit market in Southeast Asia continues to rise even sharply, and the Philippines is among the biggest destination markets.
The Impact of Counterfeiting & Piracy on Businesses
Counterfeit consumer goods pose a real threat to businesses not only in the Philippines but all over the world. Even if the most obvious benefit it gives to consumers is easy accessibility of high value goods at a much lower price, there are considerable impacts that ought to put both consumers and businesses on guard against counterfeits.
- Counterfeits are low-quality products
The price of a good is often reflective of its quality. Therefore, even counterfeit luxury goods do not necessarily reflect the same quality of an original luxury item that one gets from the original company. Luxury handbags, wallets, and footwear that come very cheap are often counterfeits that only offer a superficial value to outsiders and are rarely a high-quality item that one can keep and use for many years.
Counterfeit luxury goods, however, do not pose the same level of threat as counterfeit consumer goods such as personal care products and pharmaceutical products, which are considered to be top-selling counterfeits in the country. For example, utilizing skincare and thinking it is of great quality because it was manufactured from South Korea when it is a fake product indeed, can lead to skin irritations and rashes in some instances. Pharmaceutical products are another type of counterfeits that must be heavily monitored as they can become a serious threat, creating more damage to our health.
There are several types of counterfeit products that do more harm than good such as electronic gadgets and even automotive parts. These are high-value goods that rarely come cheap, but when they are mass-produced as counterfeit technology to offset the demand from the market, they are easily available at a much lower cost.
The quality of these counterfeit electronics is obviously much lower as they are unoriginal, fake, and may not have gone through the same level or even any quality inspection at all. Most of the time, they only end up causing more damage when used together with other appliances or your car. In worst-case scenarios, they can lead to accidents or even deaths.
- Counterfeits pose a real threat to original businesses and brand owners
Original brands typically have invested huge amounts of money, time, and effort to grow into becoming a popular brand that they have become to the market. But with the proliferation of fake products and counterfeit goods, they’ve become less valuable to people who purchase the items at a much lower price.
Consumers are not always aware if they’ve purchased a counterfeit item, as they can simply be disguised as a good bargain by the smartest merchants. But every sale of a counterfeit item is equivalent to lost revenue from the original brand or company. Not only that, consumers will have no one else to blame when their products get easily damaged.
All blame goes back to the original brand owner, rather than the marketplace or seller who sold them these counterfeit items. Businesses could easily get overwhelmed by complaints from consumers who in the first place didn’t buy the same products at the value they were originally sold. Furthermore, brand owners also become subject to a lot of negative opinions unless the truth is discovered. There are negative consequences of buying fake, low-value products that are counterfeits and these negative impacts may affect either the consumer or the brands/businesses directly.
How Businesses Can Fight Back Against Counterfeits
The problem of counterfeiting and piracy can be very difficult to control. Even if there is an appointed agency tasked to oversee these matters, there are things that businesses can do to fight back and protect their brands against counterfeits.
- Supply Chain Traceability
The process of tracing products from its original source until it reaches the consumer is known as supply chain traceability.
Through this technology that Packtica offers to businesses helping them in tracing the distribution chain, it empowers brand owners by giving them access to more control and in regulating the destination of their products. Should problems of forgery and counterfeits plague their brand along the way, it’ll be easier to track and put a stop to these illegal activities.
- Invest in High-Quality Security Packaging
Retail and consumer goods, pharmaceutical products, automotive parts, and goods belonging to industries plagued with grey market sales can start fighting counterfeit issues by investing in high-quality security packaging and labels.
Packtica’s SecurePack integrates a wide variety of security printing solutions that include holographic labels, transparent hologram lamination, and variable data for distinct identification and security, providing added protection to businesses and brands.
Moreover, anti-tamper stickers are equally ideal anti-counterfeiting solutions offered by Packtica to businesses who want to utilise another effective brand protection strategy in their packaging.
- Consumer Verification
One of the best ways for businesses and brands to regulate control and effectively fight back against counterfeiting and piracy is by working with consumers directly either through educating them or by integrating consumer verification into their packaging.
Packtica utilises an intelligent system for consumer verification known as CheckNow. By integrating CheckNow into your packaging, consumers can now easily verify whether their product is genuine or not. CheckNow utilizes a unique QR code system, enabling an online QR authentication platform for your products that can be used to promote brand protection for your business.
These are just some of the few but very effective strategies to fight against forgery, tampering, and piracy of products – a critical issue plaguing the world right now – even more intensely during this pandemic.
There is no more time to waste; protect your brand and business against counterfeits immediately!
Contact Packtica at 02-8842-0430 or email sales@packtica.com.ph to seek the help that you need. And together, let’s work towards fighting counterfeiting and piracy.
References:
- https://www.ipophil.gov.ph/news/ipophl-ncipr-to-take-on-online-counterfeiting-piracy/
- https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1083984
- https://rouse.com/insights/news/2020/the-counterfeit-goods-surge-in-southeast-asia
- https://www.divinalaw.com/news-and-updates/liability-online-marketplaces-sale-counterfeit-goods/
- https://www.ipophil.gov.ph/news/ipophl-lauds-customs-for-destruction-of-counterfeits-amid-covid/
- Packtica Malaysia
- Packtica Website PH
