Counterfeit goods — products manufactured and sold as genuine branded goods without the authorisation of the brand owner — cause direct financial harm through lost sales and brand value erosion, and in product safety-critical sectors, serious physical harm to consumers who receive an inferior counterfeit in place of the genuine article. Investigating counterfeiting requires a combination of intelligence about the production and supply chain of the counterfeit goods, evidence gathering that supports civil and criminal proceedings, and coordination with customs, trading standards, and law enforcement.
The Intelligence Challenge
Counterfeit supply chains are typically designed to be opaque: products manufactured in one jurisdiction, shipped through intermediary countries, distributed through informal channels, and sold through online marketplaces that offer a layer of separation between the seller and the buyer. Unravelling this supply chain requires the combination of open source intelligence, test purchasing, physical surveillance, and in many cases international investigation through our partner network in the relevant manufacturing jurisdictions.
What Investigation Produces
Supply chain mapping: identification of the key actors in the counterfeit supply chain, from manufacturer through distributor to retail seller, establishing the targets for any enforcement action.
Test purchase evidence: the acquisition of counterfeit goods through test purchases, properly documented and preserved as evidence, establishing the availability and scale of the counterfeit operation.
Online marketplace intelligence: systematic monitoring and investigation of online marketplaces where counterfeit goods are listed, identifying sellers and their patterns of activity.
Evidence for enforcement: investigation findings presented in a form suitable for submission to Trading Standards, HMRC’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit, and where the scale warrants it, the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU).
Facing a counterfeiting problem? Contact Bond Rees for expert IP protection investigation.
