• CMO Magazine, Tuesday, December 13, 2005 12:17 PM

Are your brands safe? Chief marketing officers need to ask themselves that question in an age when counterfeiting of brand-name products has skyrocketed. Once relegated to the Rolex knockoffs found at flea markets, counterfeiting has grown up and become big business--so big, in fact, that counterfeiters are getting better at moving goods through traditional distribution chains and onto the shelves of legitimate retailers. Also, overseas factories are turning out products so closely approaching the originals as to fool even seasoned wholesale and retail buyers.

The IPR Center, a group that coordinates the U.S. government's efforts to protect intellectual property rights, estimates that seizures of counterfeit goods in the U.S. rose nearly 48 percent between 2003 and 2004, totaling nearly $139 million. This article offers steps CMOs can take to stem the tide of counterfeiting and provides tips on what to look for to find out of your brands are being victimized.

Read the whole story at CMO Magazine »