Counterfeiting Exposed: Protecting Your Brand and Customers - Hardcover

by David M. Hopkins (Author), Lewis T. Kontnik (Author), Mark T. Turnage (Author)

A clear and compelling guide to the complex world of counterfeiting
This book provides readers with an overview of the complex subject of counterfeiting in the twenty-first century-not the traditional notion of counterfeiting fake currency, but the counterfeiting of luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, engine parts, etc. Filled with compelling stories such as how Glad trash bags have been faked as part of a scheme to launder drug money, this book offers real-world examples of how counterfeiting can occur and how readers can protect their products and brands from it. Leaving no stone unturned, this valuable resource also provides legal remedies, authentication guidance, and digital measures companies can use to fight the effects of counterfeiting on their bottom line.
David M. Hopkins (Denver, CO) is Director of International Business Programs in the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. Lewis T. Kontnik (Greenwood Village, CO) is principal and founder of Reconnaissance International, the publisher of Authentication News, an international newsletter that covers counterfeiting prevention issues.
Mark Turnage (Denver, CO) is the CEO of Applied Optical Technologies PLC, one of the largest providers of anti-counterfeiting technology to governments and companies worldwide.

Front Jacket

The problem of product counterfeiting is well beyond the comparatively trivial point of Kate Spade handbags and Rolex wristwatches. Fake toys, liquor, software, personal care products, and art work have inflicted millions of dollars in losses on legitimate businesses, as well as serious personal injury, while counterfeit pharmaceuticals, auto and aircraft parts, and fertilizers have, in several documented cases, killed unwitting consumers. Counterfeiting Exposed details what businesses can do to protect themselves from this global, $500 billion menace.

The authors focus primarily on owners of intellectual property-- brands, trademarks, patents, and copyrights-- and what they can do to combat counterfeiters and protect their intellectual capital. Proactive measures range from internal organization, legal action, and private investigators to the use of a variety of cutting-edge technological weapons for authenticating products. Counterfeiting Exposed also examines the intricately interwoven relationships between producers, consumers, governments, and societies and how counterfeiters profit at their collective expense. The authors have crafted a unique Harm Matrix, combining the degree of deception and the functionality of the fakes, to illustrate the impact of different kinds of counterfeiting schemes on the different classes of people. Chapters include:

• Creating and Protecting Brands
• Copyright and Digital Products
• The Economic Consequences of Counterfeiting
• The Social Consequences of Counterfeiting
• Organizing to Address the Problem
• What Governments and Multilateral Institutions Can (and Can't) Do

The authors also include compelling case studies throughout the text to show the damage that counterfeiting typically inflicts. CEOs, CFOs, controllers, IP and corporate attorneys, and law enforcement officers will find Counterfeiting Exposed to be an essential resource for preserving brand and market share, protecting consumers, and combating crime.

Back Jacket

Praise for Counterfeiting EXPOSED

"This book is the bible on anticounterfeiting. It is everything a company or individual needs to enlighten and protect themselves from this ever-increasing crime."
-- Frank W. Abagnale
author of Catch Me If You Can and The Art of the Steal

"This book tells you absolutely everything you need to know about the trade in fakes and what to do about it -- and then adds a bit more. It is immensely detailed, thoroughly researched, and well set out. Above all, it is readable and the ideas and information flow in an appropriately structured way. My copy will get dog-eared very quickly."
--John Anderson
Chairman, The Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group

Author Biography

DAVID M. HOPKINS is Director of International Business Programs in the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. He has worked as a business consultant in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors and is particularly interested in the adverse effect which product counterfeiting has on global trade and investment, and the problems it presents for corporations trying to protect the value of their brands.
LEWIS T. KONTNIK is principal and founder of Reconnaissance International, the publisher of Authentication News, an international newsletter covering the issues, strategies, and technologies for counterfeiting prevention. With offices in Denver and London, Reconnaissance has organized more than a dozen anticounterfeiting conferences in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
MARK T. TURNAGE is the CEO of Applied Optical Technologies PLC, one of the largest providers of anticounterfeiting technology to governments and companies worldwide. He is a regular speaker on anticounterfeiting technology for counterfeiting conventions and trade shows.