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What is a counterfeit?
Answer:A product, often of inferior quality, made or sold under another’s brand name without the brand owner’s authorization. Sellers of such products may infringe on either the trade mark, patent or copyright of the brand owner by passing off its goods as made by the brand owner. The term knockoff is often used interchangeably with “counterfeit,” although their legal meanings are not identical. A “knockoff” is a colloquial term which describes products that copy or imitate the physical appearance of other products, but which do not copy the brand name or logo of a trademark. They may, or may not, be illegal under trademark laws. Such products are considered illegal when they are intended to confuse consumers. And someone can be a counterfeiter even if he doesn’t make the products, but knowingly sells them to others. Another overlapping term is pirated goods, which generally refers to copying copyrighted products without permission, such as music, movies and software. Exact definitions are determined by the laws of various countries. Counterfeit products exist in virtually every area, including food, beverages, clothes, shoes, pharmaceuticals, electronics, auto parts, toys, and currency.
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How do i know a product is counterfeited?
Answer:Look out for deals that are too good to be true. Not all fakes sell at lower prices than their genuine counterparts, but an unreal bargain is one of the surest signs of an unreal product.
Pay attention to the products you buy. Odds are you purchase many of the same products or brands over and over again. Pay at least a little attention to them and you’ll be much better at spotting a counterfeit because you’ll have something to compare it to.
Beware products that seem flimsy or are obviously poorly made. Quality control is often absent in counterfeiting operations, so you may be able to spot a counterfeit simply based on its workmanship.
Inspect the packaging carefully. Beware flimsy packaging, packaging with substandard printing or running colours, or packages that appear to have been opened. In addition, take a moment to actually read the package.
Look for a safety certification label. Just about any electrical product, and many other products that could pose some sort of safety risk, will have one or more safety certifications on its label if it’s made by a legitimate manufacturer.
Make sure everything that should be there is there. Counterfeit products often don’t include supplementary materials such an owner’s manual or a product registration card. Sometimes they don’t even include all the parts that should come with the product, or some parts will be from a different manufacturer.
Check the manufacturer’s website. Many large companies now have information on their websites to alert customers to possible counterfeit products and to help them detect fakes.
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How is the anti-counterfeit network different from other organisations?
Answer:Unlike other organisations the Anti-Counterfeit Network is made up of multi-disciplinary experts in the behaviour change communication, marketing and legal disciplines. This gives ACN the needed expertise to deal with the counterfeiting problem on a multitude of levels ensuring the success of all endeavours