Anti-Counterfeiting Committee
Chair: John Deere
Members: Boy Scouts of America, Caterpillar Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, The Clorox Company, Energizer, Ford Motor Company, Kodak, SPLiCE, The Walt Disney Company
Vision: To stop counterfeiting of our brands.
Mission: To provide tools and best practices necessary to protect out brands
Can we afford the cost of counterfeit products?
The scope of the counterfeiting problem in the United States may surprise you. Take a closer look and you will discover cases of counterfeit shampoo, toothpaste, pet food, airplane parts, pharmaceuticals, as well as the athletic shoes and purses that you may be more familiar with. Counterfeiters do not care about you or your family’s health or safety. Often the quality of the counterfeit product packaging touting a famous brand name is far superior to the quality of the product inside. Individuals involved with the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit products have been connected to violations of health and safety regulations, tax evasion, human trafficking, child labor, and forced labor. Furthermore, counterfeit products in the marketplace raise costs for legitimate businesses that play by the rules affecting their ability to hire employees and pay taxes. The global counterfeit goods industry is currently estimated between $600 and $650 billion USD.
You would never wear a lapel pin stating that you support human trafficking or forced labor. Make a decision not to support counterfeit products.
Genuine and Counterfeit Product Examples
ONLINE RESOURCES: (GOV, NFP, Membership, Region)
- U.S. Department of Justice, Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center
- U.S. Customs an Border Protection, Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- International Anti-counterfeiting Coalition
- International Chamber of Commerce, BASCAP
- International Chamber of Commerce, Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau
- European Commission, Customs Controls, Counterfeit and Piracy
- World Intellectual Property Organization, IP Enforcement
- Interpol, Intellectual Property Rights Programme
- WTO, IP Protection and Enforcement
- Non-profit organization against counterfeiting and piracy. Provides US and federal – https://iacc.org/
- National Organization of Manufacturers has is advocates protecting businesses’ intellectual property rights
- Global intellectual property reference resource
- Trans-Atlantic IP resource
- World Customs Organization Database
- The IPR Center© it is a non-profit organization providing a secure, encrypted web based platform to be used exclusively by law enforcement officers to view contact information and training material provided by brand owners. The material provided by brand partners will be housed on the secure Law Enforcement Authentication Database within the IPR Center website. At this time there is no fee for TM holders or enforcement personnel. Also if the members of the QBPC would like to sign up for the site they will be grandfathered at current policy for the lifetime of their participation on the site.
- Quality Brands Protection Committee – The QBPC mission is ‘to work cooperatively with the Chinese Central and local governments, local industry, and other organizations to make positive contributions to intellectual property protection in the People’s Republic of China.
- A listing of global trademark office links (some links are not reliable).
- The International Trademark Association (INTA) is a not-for-profit membership association dedicated to the support and advancement of trademarks and related intellectual property as elements of fair and effective commerce. Their site features Country Guides & Country Portals and other great research tools.
- The Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG) is a not for profit trade association, recognized as a leading authority on the worldwide trade in fakes founded in the UK (1980). They currently represent nearly 200 UK and multinational companies/organizations globally, operating in, or providing specialist advice to, most industry sectors where counterfeiting is an issue.
- Global Anti-Counterfeiting Network (GACG) -The GACG Networks links a wide numberof national and regional anti-counterfeiting organizations whose common objective is to exchange and share information, to participate in appropriate joint activities and to co-operate in the resolution of specific IP problems and challenges in their respective national or regional areas.
- Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy – BASCAP – was launched by the International Chamber of Commerce.
- Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
- Listing from CPSC, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, FDA, and Department of Agriculture – http://www.recalls.gov/recent.html
- United States Patent and Trademark Office
- Basic facts about trademarks
- Copyright basics
- Domain registries
- International Intellectual Property