The growing menace of counterfeit products has become a serious problem for buyers and producers of fast moving consumer goods, so the country’s law enforcement agencies must acquire the ability to investigate this white-collar crime, says an expert.
According to an international report about 65 per cent of the goods being sold in the country are fake, which are harming the consumers, producers and the economy, says Zulfiqar Khan, a leading intellectual property lawyer, who was appointed by World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to draft rules for intellectual property laws of Pakistan.
Talking to APP here Friday he pointed out that laws do exist to curb this menace, but the law enforcement agencies do not have adequate knowledge to distinguish between the fake and genuine products.
The huge amount of ill-gotten money invested by unscrupulous elements to raise production of their goods has made it difficult to detect the genuineness, Zulfiqar Khan pointed out.
The counterfeiters neither invest in research and development nor do they comply with safety, health and environmental regulations, he said. They only want their products to appear genuine by using all types of ingredients, and even placing better-looking holograms, he added.
The local markets have been flooded with fake medicines, surgical equipment, foodstuffs, soft drinks, cigarettes, electrical appliances, vehicle spare parts, perfumes, clothing, footwear, pesticides, washing powder, toothpaste, glassware, cosmetics, toys, sunglasses and baby food.
Speaking about the risks of various fake products Zulfiqar said the medicines, prescribed for critically ill patients could seriously harm them. He said fake spare parts of cars pose serious risk to motorists, besides increasing the vehicle maintenance cost, he said.
Zulfiqar said the spurious soaps and cosmetics do not undergo safety tests and some ingredients used in them can
affect eyesight, harm the skin by causing dryness or allergies.
The spurious foodstuffs of all kinds, including tea, soft drinks and baby food are also on the rise, he said. Zulfiqar said there have also been reported incidents of fake toothpaste containing diethylene glycol, which is also found in anti-freeze. The chemical could harm young children and patients suffering from liver and kidney diseases, he added.
Zulfiqar said the act of counterfeiting is a clear theft of other people’s creativity, investment and efforts. He stressed that intellectual property is more valuable than the physical property, and should be adequately protected. Although intellectual property theft is a crime under the trademark and allied intellectual property laws, the pirated goods are widely available across the country, he noted.
The economic development of any country depends on sustained creativity; Zulfiqar said and added, there is a critical need to combat counterfeiting and piracy, which have also been found linked to public safety issues.
