Intellectual Property
Transcript: Many anti-counterfeiting strategies have been developed to protect intellectual property rights, but few reports debate the effectiveness of these strategies to curb the problem In this article, the authors conduct a study by interviewing managers to determine the efficacy of various anti-counterfeiting tactics and recommend a program that firms can use to deter counterfeiting activities Why They Don't Work Part 1 Manage the registration of all trademarks and patents in key markets. The firm must create a system to monitor where it must register its patents and when the registrations need to be renewed. Establish a formal or informal enforcement team. Create a monitoring program to quickly funnel any information about counterfeits to a central information repository. The program should review anti-counterfeiting developments in home and host countries. Develop a multi-pronged action plan, with programs directed at employees, your distribution channel, local law enforcement and international organizations. Education is important in this step Prepare to fight counterfeits by investigating realtors and distributors as well manufacturing sources, perusing injunctions and working with local law enforcement. Key Takeaways Knockoff products: look the same as the branded products but they do not abuse the intellectual property, patents, or trademarks Blank goods: items that contain everything except the logo, which can be attached later Gucci example Gray goods: products that are manufactured by the owner of the intellectual property; they are legitimate, but have found their way into unintended markets Counterfeit goods: any unauthorized manufacturing of goods whose special characteristics are protected as intellectual property rights, or trademarks, patents, and copyrights Through exploratory study, the authors attempted to define managerial perceptions of intellectual property rights by assessing the implementation and effectiveness of anti-counterfeiting strategies. They developed a survey and distributed it to US corporate managers. The problem is not a lack of legislation but a lack of enforcement. 1. Counterfeit Goods: An Old, But Growing Problem Preserving Intellectual Property Rights: Managerial insight into the Escalating Counterfeit Market Quandary Effects Continued Each year the US Trade Representative is required to develop a report that outlines the adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property rights protection in 87 different countries Priority Watch List countries China, Russia, Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Ukraine, and Venezuela Four countries where consumers are most willing to purchase counterfeit products include: China, Taiwan, US, and Mexico Introduction 4. Combating Counterfeiting: Advice From Managers Despite the amount of attention received by counterfeit goods and the government initiatives employed to protect against them, counterfeiting is still an ever pressing global issue Firms must take an active stance when dealing with the threats of counterfeiting To maximize intellectual property rights protection, a firm must use the most effective actions outlined in this study The Effects of Counterfeiting Part 2 2. The Growth of Counterfeit Trade: Assessing lost sales, brand dilution, linkages to terrorism, and legal remedies United States governmental initiatives that legally protect against counterfeiting: Tariff Act of 1930, Lanham Act, Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984, and the Stop Counterfeiting in Manufacturing Goods Act of 2006 Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!) is an initiative that attempts to organize the federal government with the private sector and trading partners to take action against piracy International initiatives International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, NAFTA, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and the Scrivener regulations of the European Union Despite the current increase in seizures, customs services is only intercepting a small amount of counterfeit goods In 2006, the US Customs Service made record seizures, confiscating nearly 15,000 different shipments valued at $155 million China has accounted for the largest amount of counterfeit goods seized by the US Customs Service Why is counterfeiting attractive? Legal remedies to victims of counterfeited goods are weak and inadequate. A majority of those arrested for patent infringement are never indicted. Seizing counterfeit goods Key terms Software Piracy This study primarily focuses on these effects: The loss experienced by the owners of intellectual property The loss in revenues and profits as well as costs to policing and fighting counterfeits The loss of declining customer loyalty because of brand dilution and reduced growth It also helps fund terrorist groups and crime The loss of profits is debatable because the consumers that buy the counterfeit goods compose their own market segment The reason is