Protect Your Brand

  • Copyright, Patent, Trademark & Industrial Design Investigations

     

    Let us find out for you who's copying your product. Don't waste time while you continue to incur losses.

    It's not enough to identify who the person or company is before you run to your lawyers and start a legal action.

    You can't start a legal action for losses unless you know how much damage has been done. Inquiries have to be made to determine the background or assets (if any) of the potential defendant and/or respondent.

     

    Is the company a one-man show, or a complex manufacturing and distribution network that goes right back to manufacturing facilities in Hong Kong? We have been there, seen it, done it and can prove it.

    You may be able to get an order to have the company cease and desist, but usually such an order is issued along with a claim for losses. Evidence has to be gathered, the true parties (owners) have to be identified, and affidavits have to be prepared (this is just the first step). The Corpa Group works regularly in this regard with Patent, Trademark & Copyright Solicitors.

    The circulation of counterfeit products through illegal channels is valued at $710 billion USD internationally. In 2014, although Canada has enacted new legislation to seize counterfeit products at the border, experts claim it’s enforcement mechanism is ineffective. The value of counterfeit products that are transported or sold in the country is valued between $20 to $30 billion dollars a year. Brands in a wide variety of industries including clothing, pharmaceuticals and technology are victim to the economic impact of counterfeiting.

    The sale, consumption and usage of counterfeit products present different issues for the different industry sectors involved. Due to the fact that counterfeit clothing brands don’t pay for high quality production, they likely generate more profit than the genuine brands. Counterfeiters have a safe haven selling goods online; half of the merchandise available on Amazon’s Marketplace is third party supplied. In a market where the international clothing industry generates $3 trillion in sales, the International Trademark Association claims that counterfeited property amounts to $461 billion. In the Unites States, the Government Accountability Office made purchases from popular third-party marketplaces such as eBay, Walmart, Newegg and Amazon to discover that 43% of products they purchased were counterfeit. It is clear that there is a negative economic impact to brands victimized by counterfeiting.

    In addition to concerns regarding revenue, the pharmaceutical and technological industries may suffer serious damage to their brand’s reputation. These counterfeit brands may tarnish a brand’s image by causing injury or death. It is easy to copy a pharmaceutical logo but difficult to reproduce the same quality of care in drug development. Counterfeit drugs may be expired or contain wrong, dangerous or inactive ingredients – a Canadian woman has already died in 2007 as a result of buying pharmaceuticals from an online counterfeit pharmacy. Companies like Viagra who understand the risk of consuming these counterfeit pharmaceutical products even have resources on their websites to warn consumers of the dangers involved. The World Health Organization estimates that counterfeit pharmaceuticals are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths every year and represent 10% of the international pharmaceutical market.

    Technological industry brands suffer the same risks as their pharmaceutical counterparts; packaging and logos may be easily produced but internal wiring and electrical components are not produced with the same quality or standard of care as legitimate brands are. For example, the photography giant Canon has experienced cases of explosions and fires caused by counterfeit power accessories and batteries. Behind Hong Kong and China, Canada ranks as the third biggest source of counterfeit technological products worldwide.

    In the brief overview of the clothing, pharmaceutical and technological industries it is apparent that the practice of counterfeiting is not a victimless crime. All industries suffer the economic impact including reduced revenue and damage to their brand’s reputation. Further, counterfeiting is harmful to the taxpayer and in extreme cases helps to fund terrorist activities.

    Hiring a private investigator can help protect your brand from harmful economic impact caused by counterfeiting. Private investigators can service your brand in the following areas:

    * Identifying and monitoring online sources of counterfeit goods

    * Identifying links in the supply chain

    * Identifying suspected retail parties and actors

    * Recovering information on the parties and actors

    * Conducting surveillance

    * Police liaison

    We know exactly what elements have to be in place in order that any Solicitor (or Attorney) can succeed in obtaining an order and can determine the likelihood of collecting on losses.

    We are highly resourceful and operate with a global scope when it comes to matters of import, export, and the complex channels of manufacturing and worldwide distribution.

    Call or write us--we will do our very best to quote you a reasonable rate compatible with a comfortable budget, that both parties can work with to obtain results quickly.

    We will not take on an assignment unless there is some likelihood of obtaining a result.