Counterfeit Goods

Counterfeit Goods

These days, the problem of counterfeit customer goods has become very serious. Commodities from almost every sector can be forged, copied or imitated. They occupy a very high percent of world trade. Counterfeiting has its advantages and disadvantages for both producers and customers.

Using fake products can be very dangerous to people's health. These products most often do not pass any inspections, and no one can guarantee that they are not harmful. Also donating them could destroy the image of the imitative brand. For example, the luxury brand Luis Vuitton prefers to burn all unsold bags to avoid lowering brand cachet by donating or selling them at a lower price. These products are also bad for the countries because they are losing a lot of tax revenue money.

But fakes could be a good thing too. Some brands benefit from them because they work as some sort of a publicity and so they even embrace them. For others, they open paths to new markets and do not change the image of the brand because people who by these goods know that they’re fake. Being imitated is a sign of strength, it means that you’re good at what you’re doing.

So, what is the solution to this problem? How can we benefit from the cheap counterfeited goods and eliminate their negative side? If brands benefit from these products they could give their consent to selling or donating them and if they pass some sort of a health control, they could be legalized, and countries won’t lose money from tax revenue.

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