Since the 1st Global Forum on Pharmaceutical AntiCounterfeiting back in 2002, there has been a huge increase in awareness of the dangers of counterfeit medicines and the pharmaceutical industry, national drug regulators, law enforcement agencies, international organizations and healthcare professionals have never been more active in combating fake medicines and medical devices. Nonetheless, the problem persists and may even be on the rise in many parts of the world, including the Americas and Europe.

No To Fakes was proud to be a media partner at the 6th Global Forum on Pharmaceutical AntiCounterfeiting held early May in London. This year the focus was on optimizing capabilities to combat counterfeits, and although the emphasis was on the pharmaceutical and medical sector, parallels were drawn with other industries. For example, Steve Carden provided an excellent overview of how the issues faced by the cigarette and tobacco industry could be applied and adapted to the pharma industry. Roger Bate, who has also been featured recently on No To Fakes, gave an informative overview of the international politics affecting programmes to reduce counterfeiting, highlighting the problems of illiteracy and low income in the most affected markets. There was also much discussion about the definition of fake drugs (counterfeit, falsified, substandard, etc) and a proposal to define the problem simply as 'not safe'. Notable was the widespread participation of government health ministries and agencies in this event, particularly from African countries. It provided a valuable opportunity to learn what was being done and what was being planned to reduce the counterfeits on this continent.

Is the outlook for a reduction in counterfeiting looking good? Recent media coverage would indicate no; the figures for counterfeiting across all industries look pretty gloomy:

"The value of counterfeit and pirated products sold worldwide is expected to grow to as much as USD 1.78 trillion in 2015 and is likely to hurt foreign direct investment (FDI) and tax collections in many G-20 countries, including India" (BASCAP - Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy)

The BASCAP report is brutally frank about the financial fallout from counterfeiting in terms of lost revenues but also the economic costs of deaths resulting from product counterfeiting and recommends increased cooperation between governments and law enforcement agencies to fight the counterfeiting scourge.

"Counterfeiting has risen by more than 10,000 per cent in the past two decades globally, while in the UK the market is worth at least £14 billion a year. " Ruth Orchard, Director-general of the Anti-Counterfeiting Group, UK, was recently quoted as saying.

And part of the problem is easy access to counterfeit goods; the Internet being a major source of both intentional and unintentional counterfeit purchases. eBay is apparently doing its mightiest to fight the counterfeiters and removes thousands of items from the site every week but it's an uphill struggle and the recent eBay/Tiffany court battle would indicate that some brand owners feel that eBay is not doing enough to protect its users.

No to Fakes is frequently encouraging the concept of using information to fight the fakes. The aim of the No to Fakes website is to educate the general public about the problems of all fake products because providing knowledge and understanding of the issues involved has great potential for stemming the tide of counterfeit purchases and empowers consumers to make informed decisions on what they buy.

The independent record label IRIS has caused quite a stir with its new anti-piracy campaign aimed at babies and small children. Instead of using the hard-hitting ,'you wouldn't steal a car' approach adopted by the film industry, IRIS has chosen to soften the message and, by targeting children, take an educational, long-term view. With cutesy artwork by illustrator and animator S.Britt, the message "I share everything but my music" is conveyed.

You can see where IRIS is coming from, after all the kids of today will be the music-buyers of tomorrow and if they have grown up with the attitude that pirated music is wrong that will hopefully stay with them into their adult years. “Copyright awareness doesn’t have to be heavy-handed; it boils down to supporting the artists that create the music we love,” said Bryn Boughton, Co-Founder and CMO of IRIS Distribution.

The campaign has prompted a lot of comment, mostly negative it appears, with opinions ranging from "I think this actually helps pirates by showing the public this is the best the IRIS could come up with." to "To me, this illustrates the very weakness of their arguments, we want to share what we love with those we love. Why should music be any different?" What do you thnk of the IRIS campaign? How effective do you find this approach and do you think it can have any long-term impact?

Nearly 40 nations convened in Tokyo in early October to discuss the signing of an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. These talks have involved the US, European Union, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Switzerland, all of whom say their economies have suffered from a sharp increase in trade in fake and pirated goods. Hopefully these talks will now move forward into forming the foundations of a solid agreement that can result in a significant decrease in counterfeiting across the globe. Although some would say that the absence of one of the chief perpetrators of counterfeit crimes, namely China, would indicate an uphill battle ahead!
In India an official S.O.S. has been sent out from Bollywood. A handful of well-known Bollywood actors have sought the help of the Mumbai police to intensify action against movie pirates. Amidst much publicity they have sent off a series of letters to top police figures seelking their help to contain the piracy of their latest film. Action such as this by high-profile people brings the issue into the public eye and can be highly effective in dissuading consumers from buying into the counterfeit trade.
The release of the latest report from the British Software Alliance on the 'Economic Benefits of Reducing Software Piracy' is also doing its part to spread the word. When the bald facts are that reducing software piracy by a mere 10 points over the next four years could produce US$140 billion in new economic activity in the 42 countries studied, it's actually hard to imagine how anyone could argue that counterfeiting is a 'victimless crime' - economic losses affect us all!

They might look pretty good sometimes, they might save you a packet, but are they really worth it? We're talking about the massive tide of fake electronics that has swept the market, ultimately causing enormous problems for consumers and brand owners alike. From fake iPods (aka "notPods"), mobile phones and memory cards to hair stylers, batteries and cables; fakes are everywhere in the electronics market and sometimes telling the wheat from the chaff can be surprisingly challenging. Apart from the dangers they can pose (explosive batteries, dodgy wiring, electrical interference), fake electronics are never as good quality as the original (even the Chinese manufacturers of the new counterfeit 'iPad' admits this) and by supporting this trade you are detracting from the R&D effort that brand owners like Apple, Nokia and Motorola have invested. If the brand owners suffer, the next is in line are the people who work for them and ultimately those that buy from them. So don't be a KIRFer (Keepin' It Real Fake) and stick to genuine electronics. What are your thoughts on this issue? Have you ever knowingly bought a fake electronic product? What was your experience and do you think it was worth the money you saved?
Keep yourself informed on fake electronics brands, check out the No to Fakes Consumer Electronics and Software section.

Early July, CCN and BBC  reported that the number of Internet scammers offering fake Tamiflu surpassed those selling fake Viagra. Interpol estimated that in May 3-4% of all spam emails were on this subject. Roche’s Tamiflu is of course in the limelight because it is one of the key medical weapons against the H1N1 virus known more commonly as Swine Flu. Indeed, fake Tamiflu was also popular in late 2005 because it could be used to help combat Bird Flu, and scammers tend to cash in on consumer fear and market demand (see Customs agents seize counterfeit Tamiflu and also Fake Tamiflu available on the Internet). A quick look at Google Trends shows that interest in the search term Tamiflu peaked autumn 2005 and summer 2009 – so people are piqued by the worry of becoming ill and there not being enough medicines to go round.

The trouble is that buying fake medicines on line is becoming a more common occurrence – just as people buy books, gifts, electronic equipment and supermarket provisions on line, so they naturally start to purchase their medical products too. However, in a quest for discounts and a discreet transaction people inadvertently buy from dubious on-line pharmacies rather than reputable sources with a prescription. Indeed we have talked about this issue on No To Fakes before (click here to read our interviews with Jim Thomson and Trisha Torrey ) but in general the public is ill informed about the problem and not everyone knows to look at websites like this one on recognizing counterfeit Tamiflu before buying or consuming a medicine. And we have also talked in the past with Professor Facundo Fernandez at Georgia Tech about fake malarials – interestingly his team was also involved in developing a test to detect fake Tamiflu quickly, such was the size of the problem even back in 2006 (see Scientists offer faster test to detect fake Tamiflu).

Unless more is done to protect original products and the supply chain through which they are transported and sold, the problem is going to continue to grow and spread. The Internet is here to stay, spammers will continue to bombard unsuspecting members of the public with offers, and if a global pandemic really does occur then panic will fan the flames and cause even more demand for counterfeit drugs. One cause for concern is that some fakes do contain active medicinal material, but not enough to make much difference to the patient. However, fake medicines of this kind can help viruses to develop a resistance to drugs, and then even more lives are at stake.