Counterfeit products are not only illegal, but they also endanger the health and safety of car drivers and other road users. This is why Daimler continued its efforts to combat product counterfeiters with even more intensive measures in 2020. The focus was above all on safety-related products such as fake brake discs or wheels.
Florian Adt, head of Legal Product Intellectual Property said: “Over 1.7 million counterfeit Daimler products were confiscated in 2020. We initiated and supported over 550 raids by the authorities, a slight increase compared to the previous year – despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.”
The product pirates invest a tremendous amount of criminal energy in this trade, and according to a report by the trade association Unifab often achieve higher margins here than with drugs. In many cases the goods sold by organised counterfeiters are produced in inhumane conditions without any consideration for environmental standards, workplace safety or human rights. To non-experts, counterfeit parts may look very little different from genuine parts, but in most cases, they are of inferior quality and do not meet even minimum legal standards, therefore representing a significant risk to the wellbeing and safety of customers.
In 2020 the online trade increased significantly owing to COVID-19, which made this distribution channel even more interesting for counterfeiters. Adt added: “We have adapted our brand protection strategy and increased our activities to combat counterfeiting in online trading. All in all, we were able to have 138,000 fake products removed from online platforms. This is around three times as many as during the same period before the pandemic.”
Typical alarm signals are a conspicuously low price, anomalies in product quality, or goods being sold by dubious online sources. The aim of the worldwide raids with local authorities is the large forgery networks and the dismantling of their production and distribution structures. Other measures include criminal proceedings, injunctions or actions for information and damages.
The brand protection team cooperates closely with Customs and police also when it comes to prevention. In training sessions and with information materials, they raise awareness of the safety risks and help others to distinguish genuine parts from fakes. In so doing, the team is also contributing to sustainability – not only in terms of safety, but also with respect to human rights and environmental protection.