As we commemorate the World Anti-Counterfeiting day this week, it´s important to analyze the effects that the pandemic will have in the battle against counterfeits in the world.
With the economy affected deeply by the pandemic, prices of goods may vary dramatically and people could have less economic resources to buy goods. Also, there is the risk that counterfeiters take advantage of the situation to place counterfeited products in the market to compete with authentic products at cheaper prices.
As a consumer, we need to analyze the products we are buying and be informed that counterfeit is a crime. Consuming a counterfeited product is contributing to the existence of criminal organizations that against all laws trade their products.
For the trademark owners, it is important to take the necessary actions to prevent the introduction of counterfeited goods to the market, for which it is important to build strategies along with having a capable team that is familiar with the legal process to deal with counterfeits in each country.
The counterfeiting of goods, are always harmful to trademark owners. In pandemic times, it can be even more harmful and have a huge impact in companies like conducting them to bankruptcy, since the cash flow already affects all the economy and with the product counterfeits, the sales can be reduced considerably.
As citizens we need to understand that counterfeits are a crime that has been existing in the world since a long time ago and with very harmful effects. The battle to reduce counterfeits is not won yet and we all have to support it avoiding the consumption of this type of products, because when buying a counterfeited product, we empower criminal organizations.
At CENTRAL LAW, our IP team of lawyers is highly qualified to build anti-counterfeiting strategies and have experience in dealing with these kinds of cases. Contact us if you require any assistance regarding counterfeits at info@central-law.com
Gustavo Noyola
Director of IP Department
CENTRAL LAW
Guatemala
