Another common type of intellectual property investigation involves counterfeiting and piracy of products. Counterfeiting generally refers to cases of trademark infringement, while “piracy” refers to copyright infringement.
Piracy often involves illegally downloading music but can also include movies, TV shows, or other copyrighted work available online.
Licensed products that are often counterfeited and sold, include:
- apparel,
- fashion accessories, such as purses and wallets,
- Jewelry,
- electronics, such as chargers, cell phones and MP3 players,
- everyday personal products, such as shampoo and toothpaste,
- sporting goods,
- trading cards,
- toys,
- medications, and
- licensed paraphernalia.
Often, counterfeit products pose many health and safety risks, for example toxic ingredients in counterfeit medications, or children’s clothing that is not fire retardant. They can also result in job losses and non-payment of taxes. For these reasons and others, these types of investigations are taken very seriously. They are often done as a collaboration between investigators, lawyers, law enforcement authorities, and brand owners, and often end up in court.