TKM is pleased to share the results of the IP Market Survey launched in June 2021 with the support of our partners AEB and Unifab. The study aimed to establish a relationship between the pandemic and the quantity of counterfeit goods, as well as to identify the main trends in the fight against counterfeiting during the Covid and Post-Covid periods.
More than 50 participants - representatives of 15 different industries from 9 countries - took part in the survey, allowing a deep analysis of the market situation and reaching the following conclusions:
- 73% of respondents faced and continue to face counterfeit of their own brands in the countries of distribution, mostly in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
- 43% noted an impact of the pandemic on the counterfeit industry, namely the growth of counterfeit products during the Covid period and a tendency to increase even more during an economically unstable context.
- Due to the dynamics of the annual growth of counterfeit products on the market, 76% of respondents are actively implementing or have already implemented brand protection strategies, of those 84% work with online protection and 92% use the offline format. Most of the respondents choose both approaches to insure an effective fight against all possible offenders.
- The respondents named many difficulties when fighting against counterfeiting, mostly: lack of support from government agencies, ineffectiveness of customs and courts, deeply settled illegal schemes, high legal costs and long destruction procedures.
- Despite the usual reluctance from brands to disclose that their products may be counterfeit, half of the respondents still inform consumers of the presence of counterfeit products, thereby preventing an increase in their number and the unawareness of clients.
In the next 2 years, more than 2/3 of respondents plan to continue actively fighting against counterfeit, and half are confident that their budget towards brand protection strategy will not be cut, even in such an unpredictable economic situation. This trend is positive for legal providers, since the joint efforts and interests of copyright holders will most effectively and quickly combat counterfeiting.
In the long term, the correlation between the pandemic and the increase of counterfeit products’ volume on the market will be reflected in more critical dynamics than at present times. Right holders should strengthen their position in the fight against offenders.
Most companies are actively fighting against counterfeiting. In the next two years, they plan to deepen their focus on this issue, taking all possible steps to counter the influx of fakes.
It is important to remember that in order to effectively fight against counterfeit goods, an integrated approach is needed. It should preferably be aimed at both online protection and offline processes. In addition, it is necessary to inform consumers about the presence of counterfeit products in order to minimize their sale and purchase in general.
We hope this study will be useful both to our colleagues and to everyone interested in the topic of forgeries. TKM will continue to share important information from the field of brand protection, so we invite everyone to join and follow the updates on our social networks and on the company's website.
