With a plethora of products available for sell it becomes extremely difficult to trace down the fakes. Many surveys show that the ‘fake brands' market in India is estimated to be an investment of billions of rupees. This fake market does not only harm the sale of brands but almost always leads to a threat to the reputation of the original product.

A brand is an intellectual property of the brand owner (unless otherwise stated), hence, any kind of impersonation of that product in terms of logo, design, colour etc leads to the encroachment of the brand owners intellectual property rights, this amounts to IPR Violations Indiaand in a case like this, the brand owner can seek protection under the law.

There are a few facets that come under the protection of brands from being despoiled.

First and foremost Due Diligence by the brand/brand owner. It is always advisable to keep a track of the market.  One should not underestimate the power of market research. With a new brand coming into the souk each possible day it is extremely important to be an alert participant. There are Brand Protection services in India that make this work easy for the brands by assisting them with all the categories of due diligence.

Due diligence should also be a priority for the consumer. As a consumer we must make sure that we are buying the original product and not a spoof of the original product.

 

The second one being the course that one must take after finding out about the existence of the fake product i.e. reporting about fake products. Reporting fake products in Indiahas been made much simpler due to the presence of many specialized agencies helping/guiding you towards the path of solution in case of infringement.  One must also understand that if followed properly, India has a strong legal system to support any kind of Intellectual Property Rights violation.

Though in the past IPR has been a topic of conflict and debate worldwide, it is now gaining the importance and credibility with an increasing general awareness day by day. Brands must start by taking the initial step to control IPR related crimes by getting the trademarks and logos registered, following the copyright rules, patenting discoveries etc. This will lead to a grass-root level solution to the prevailing issues.

On the other hand any person who notices/ comes across a fake brand or a brand that has imitated another in some way, must immediately report it. Many instances prove that not only the manufacturer but also the user of a pirated/copied product can face legal complications.

It is always necessary to be alert when dealing with IPR issues as they can lead to major legal snag.