How designers are combating the counterfeit market

By: Anne Robinson

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It amazes me that some people can justify buying a fake or counterfeit designer item, by assuming that designers make enough money off their collections that the counterfeit market doesn't really hurt them.

Supporting this illegal market is the same as saying we have the right to determine when a wealthy person no longer deserves to make money off their work. Fashion is a business, not a hobby. It's about money.

High end fashion designers are very aware of the fact that their designs are being copied and sold around the world. There is a misconception that they don't care and ignore this fact. Designers are on top of this issue and have done a lot in attempt to end the counterfeit market.

Not only do designers lose millions of dollars each year because of the counterfeit market; they are now forced to employ people to fight against it and protect the company's trademark, which also costs millions of dollars.

Many counterfeit sales take place online, especially on online auction sites, such as ebay. Some designers have people employed whose only job is to monitor these sites. As soon as products go up for sale, the site or company is sued. In some cases, ebay has been sued for allowing the items to be posted.

Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Tiffany, L'Oreal, and Rolex are among the list of designers who have taken ebay to court over counterfeit items.

Some designers have gotten a little more face-to-face contact with the people selling counterfeit items. Thousands of raids have occurred. Most notably, Louis Vuitton is known for leading over 30,000 raids (mostly in China) of stores that are selling counterfeit items. In the case of a raid, store owners are arrested and sued, and the store is shut down.

Not surprisingly, technology is also used to combat the problem. The difficult part is making something that will be easy to detect but hard to replicate. Special chemically altered dyes are sometimes added to fabrics. Some designers are embedding devices to track what subcontractors do with the products. Tags with holograms are also becoming popular.

So, is the government cooperative in helping designers shut down counterfeit trade? In general, the answer is yes. This market costs the government millions of dollars. It also is bad for national security. The profits made from counterfeit sales often contribute to organized crime and terrorism.

In the end, remember what the Harpar Bazaar campaign against counterfeiting states, "Fakes are

never in fashion." If we could all live by this, we could quickly put the counterfeit market to shame.

Beware: counterfeit sales common online

By: Anne Robinson

Amr8798@gmail.com

www.twitter.com/amr8798

The internet is a great thing, a couple of quick key strokes and the world is at our fingertips. We can look up directions, great restaurants, movies, news, and perhaps most convenient...we can shop...in our pajamas...while watching Conan.

But, of course, there is a downside to this convenience. The internet is also a convenient place for sellers to sell counterfeit items. Which means, especially when buying designer items online, you need to beware of the fakes.

Take ebay for example, a great place to buy a designer item for less, right? Someone else bought it, used it, and now wants to make some money off it. Well, don't count on it being as authentic as it might say in the listing. An estimated 4 million counterfeit items are listed on ebay each year! Ebay is not held responsible for the sale of counterfeit items, and as it becomes more common, it is also becoming harder to stop and prosecute those involved in these illegal sales.

Business to business websites have proven to be an easy way for sellers to buy illegal items from illegal Chinese vendors. The knock-offs are cheap, so they arrive here and can be sold for quite a profit.

Counterfeit sales online are so prevalent because they ensure that the buyer pays for the item before being able to inspect it. Since you can't inspect the item before purchasing it online, there are some other things to be aware of to help you spot the fakes right off the bat.

For instance, some sites advertise selling designer bags at huge discounts. So, do a little research...(Ok, I'll help you get started) designers like Hermes and Louis Vuitton have corporate policies to never sell bags at discounted prices. Which means, the bags would either be fake or the sale illegal...neither option sounds very promising.

Watch out for clothes that say are "inspired by" another collection. In some cases, the "inspiration" is almost identical to the original. Forever 21 ran into this problem when they were sued by Design House Trovata because their shirts, which they claimed to be inspired by Trovata designs, looked identical to the originals. Check out the picture. The top shirts were found at Forever 21 and the bottom are the originals. I'm thinking that's a little more than inspiration.

Even though we love to pull out those credit cards and make instant transactions, it's important to be aware that the internet is fueling counterfeit sales. To be sure you don't get a fake, or scam your favorite designer out of their money, just keep to doing your online shopping directly on designer websites. There you are guaranteed an authentic item, great customer service, and a legal transaction.