Is the War against Counterfeiting Fair?
The counterfeiting industry accounts for over a trillion dollars and has massive implications to the luxury brands and communities all over the world. Almost everything gets counterfeited, such as baby formula, medicine, wine, luxury products, car parts, and even aircraft parts. Most remarkably, today’s current product authentication technology can halt this illegal trillion-dollar industry overnight. Instead, laws continue to be proposed for stricter punishments, like imprisonment for people caught selling counterfeit products.
At Authentic Or Not, we don’t feel this would be fair for certain folks in this complex crime chain. Almost always the folks selling counterfeit products on the streets and stores are not the true culprits making millions. These folks selling fake goods are just looking for quick cash and some help with their living conditions and to support a family. Imposing harsh punishments to them only hurts the poor, meanwhile the manufacturers, or brains behind the counterfeit schemes, continue to make millions without any consequences. The counterfeiters just find other distributors and sellers to continue to expand their operations.
The best way to hit counterfeiters is to outsmart them with anti-counterfeiting technologies. Far too often you see fashion brands using outdated methods like authentication cards or holograms that can be duplicated. 
The customers need to hold onto these authentication cards forever to prove ownership and authenticity. The average customer would not be able to tell the difference between a genuine hologram and a fake hologram. Today, there is a much more effective solution making both the brand’s and customer’s lives simple.
Instant Product Authentication
Manufacturers should be investing in their global brand protection by incorporating anti-counterfeit technologies. Below is an example of how Authentic Or Not technology can stop counterfeiting. Invisible microchips stitched inside products contain an encrypted security module that speaks to a smartphone without the need for an app.
By embedding these microchips into garments or any manufactured product, anyone can simply hover a smartphone over an object to see whether a product is authentic, without having to download any app or program. Imagine a way for any customs agent to easily determine whether a product is authentic without any training, stopping counterfeits coming into a country. Instant Product Authentication could be the ultimate tool at the borders we’ve been waiting for.
It is estimated 92 percent of Fortune 500 companies are affected by counterfeiting. By embracing anti-counterfeit technology, this issue can be eliminated not tomorrow but today.
Currently, many luxury brands accept related costs as anti-counterfeiting measures, by providing training for customs agents to stop fake goods at the border. Any confiscated items at the border, fashion brands are expected to pay for storage as well. This is usually following unnecessary communication between the brand and customs department.
Today’s anti-counterfeiting solutions can ultimately stop all the counterfeiters around the world, along with stolen authentic products taken from the factory. Not only would brands win by stopping counterfeits, Authentic Or Not microchips also provide other benefits, from inventory to creative marketing strategies that brands could never tap into before.
Aside from global brand protection, it’s important to stop the counterfeiter masterminds, as counterfeiting has many repercussions to communities around the world, such as child labor, human trafficking, gang warfare, and other criminal activities we will touch on in another post.
#Instant Product Authentication #Anti-Counterfeiting Technologies #Brand Protection #Counterfeit Products #Global Brand Protection