Theoretically, there are plenty ways to distinguish counterfeits from original products: starting from bar codes to laboratory examination. However, the majority of them are absolutely unaffordable for ordinary purchasers. It is even more difficult to catch counterfeit sellers on site. After fraud is discovered, it is very difficult to prove regarding vendors that the latter have sold a counterfeit product.

It Is Better To Tell the Truth

"Many companies refuse to admit that they currently have problems," Peter B. Necarsulmer, President of the Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR), told Gazeta, "But they are not aware that in the long-term they will come across an even more serious problem because their brand is suffering."

As a rule, companies suffering from pirating are afraid that if they say publicly that counterfeits under their trademarks are circulating on the market, consumers will stop buying their legitimate products, just in case. In particular, famous producers of tea bags and washing powders have been caught "hiding such information."

According to the CIPR survey, 81 percent of consumers think that there is inadequate available information on counterfeits, and 73 percent would like to receive instructions directly from producers on how to distinguish original products from counterfeits. It is worth citing a telltale example. The Georgian company Georgian Glass & Mineral Water, the right holder to Borjomi, made public the "characteristic features" of the original mineral water. As a result of the outreach campaign, the number of Borjomi's counterfeits in Moscow was reduced by 99 percent. However, after the anti-piracy campaign was launched, the sales of original Borjomi also decreased considerably.

In another case a company exposed pirates. In February 2003 GUM, TsUM and the Planeta Sport chain of sports shops began selling jeans under the Mustang brand worth some $5. Original Mustang jeans cost at least 10 times as much. OOO Mustang Trade's specialists, who represent the company's interests in Moscow, conducted their own investigation and revealed that all such products in the above stores were counterfeit. The right holder went to the prosecutor's office and the State Trade Inspector.

Alexey Potapov, manager of the Dzhinsovaya Simfoniya [Jeans Symphony] network, said that about 60 percent of the jeans in the Russian market are counterfeit, and that large and popular stores knowingly acquire fakes primarily because of their managers' low level of qualification.

In the Shadow

However few producers pay attention to the fact that they are being ripped off by producers and sellers acting in bad faith. For instance, L'Oreal was not interested in the fact that their regular clients purchased a counterfeit facial cream called Age Perfect for a price similar to that of the original product. The company's manager stated that since the cream was not produced by L'Oreal, there should not be any claims against the company. He also refused to write down the address of the pirating store.

High-Chrome eye drops purchased at the Angara pharmacy turned out to be counterfeit. However this was revealed when the eye drops were opened: the supposedly sealed cover was turned to the side, air bubbles were found under the label, as well as bits of the bottle's plastic. As it turned out, the original eye drops are 20 rubles more expensive than the counterfeit ones. Naturally the pharmacy refused to admit its guilt.

KonfOP and CIPR specialists state that over the last few years the quality of the packageing of counterfeit products has improved significantly, which is why the consumer now has more trouble spotting a counterfeit by its appearance. This is why currently the only way to evade counterfeit products is to purchase goods at verified stores and from official dealers. CIPR even proposed to introduce the voluntary certification of stores, which would confirm that they are working with official dealers.

How Counterfeits Can Be Identified

• Before Making a Purchase

By the place of purchase, packageing, appearance, the absence of a certificate or a permit for sale, the absence of a guarantee, the absence of Russian-language instructions for use, the lack of a bar-code, and a relatively low price.

• After Making a Purchase

By the quality (use characteristics) - the inconsistancy of the product's quality with the expected effect.