The Curses of Counterfeiting

The curses of counterfeiting are financial theft, user danger and the potential jeopardy of brand reputation. We take a look at some of the anti-counterfeiting activity taking place and suggest some ways in which manufacturers, contractors and consumers can help to protect themselves.

First and foremost, counterfeiting is theft. The diverting of millions of pounds of revenue from genuine manufacturers into the pockets of unscrupulous criminals through the sale of fake products.

Alongside the financial concerns of this illegal business, the use of counterfeit electrical goods (which are commonly made from inferior materials and are almost never tested for safety) can lead to critical failures, fire, personal injury and sometimes death . Counterfeit goods are a major problem in developing regions such as Middle East and Asia where the development of the electrical infrastructure is already a significant challenge. Counterfeit electrical products potentially have a number of victims:

1) The user who can be injured or killed through their use.
2) Electrical installers and contractors have a responsibility to supply safe products - and will face liability accusations if an installation fails or is unsafe.
3) The manufacturer who creates a product that is copied - losing them financial revenue, brand respect and who may face litigation if fake product with their branding causes damage to person or property.
4) The OEM, who unwittingly buys fake components to put into legitimate products and inadvertently compromises their whole production run.

Unfortunately counterfeiting is widespread but the fight to stop it continues year on year. Our colleagues at BEAMA Installation chair the anti-counterfeiting working group. This group runs a regular programme of anti-counterfeiting activities mostly in China, in conjunction with local authorities and a specialist Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) company, in order to conduct raids on unlicensed factories producing such goods.

Staggering quantities of fake electrical goods have been seized in these raids. One recent 5-month period saw 435,000 items removed, bringing the total to over 10,000,000 items in the last 10 years - covering many famous electrical brands. Similar initiatives covering Africa and the Middle East have also been successful - but these have targeted the other end of the chain - the distribution and supply channel. Such efforts have obviously made a significant impact on the counterfeiters activities and doubtless prevented large numbers of electrical safety incidents.

ASTA BEAB plays an active part in this international group striving to eradicate electrical counterfeiting - both in the testing and in the assessment of suspect goods, but there are actions that manufacturers, the supply chain, contractors and consumers can take themselves to do their part in this battle.

Contractors & Consumers
. Can opt to use certified products from trusted brand names, rather than perhaps cheaper lesser-known alternatives.
. Use reference sources like the ASTA BEAB Buyers guide (www.astabeab.com/buyersguide) to tell you which products are certified before you buy.

The Supply Chain
. Can ask to see technical files, test reports and certification documents for products from independent third parties as part of their stock selection process. If they are in doubt of the genuine nature of these documents the issuing parties will be happy to confirm validity.

Manufacturers
. Can ensure the branding information on their products is moulded into the surface. It is difficult to copy without specific tooling equipment and is almost impossible to remove
. Could instigate additional measures of monitoring their supply chain
. If purchasing a component from another manufacturer to put in a complete product, these could be sourced from the original brand holder direct rather than through a third party.
. Could opt to secure product certification from a recognised and experienced 3rd party authority. This requires a regular factory inspection of a products manufacturing site (to ensure consistent production process), ongoing product surveillance and assessment of factory and shop samples (that help to identify if fake product has got into the supply chain) and means there will be a detailed technical file available that provides a compelling defence against accusations of product liability - should a manufacturer ever face a legal challenge.

Free 'Counterfeit Kills' DVD

The new 'Counterfeit Kills - Protect Yourself' DVD produced by BEAMA in conjunction with ASTA BEAB is now available FREE OF CHARGE. It's a short film about the impact of counterfeiting and the dangers of fake products.
To get you copy, just send your name and address to:
info@astabeab.com with the title Free DVD in the subject line.

If you need more information about how to protect yourself from Counterfeiting, contact ASTA BEAB today.