Global Anti-Counterfeiting

Counterfeiting is not confined to the pharmaceutical sector. Virtually any product that can be copied to a plausible degree of resemblance can be, and is often, faked.

In 1989 a Norwegian aircraft containing fake parts crashed on its way from Oslo to Hamburg killing all 55 passengers on board. Research by Carratu, a leading intellectual property protection firm, has recently established links between counterfeit fashion goods and extremist political groups and narcoterrorists. The appeal of counterfeiting to all sorts of criminal-minded people and organisations is the ability to piggyback on a well-marketed, and therefore familiar, brand without having to spend any resources to establish a distribution network.

There has been a swift increase in the number of international initiatives focussed on ridding the world of counterfeit, and often dangerous, products. The list above identifies the most notable such projects.

IMPACT - International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce.

BASCAP - Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy

CACP - Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy

CACIT - Coalition Against Counterfeiting & Illicit Trade