Our losses from cheap gains

From ink products to cellphone accessories to beauty products, the counterfeit trade has truly shifted from just luxury goods to nearly everything we use on a daily basis. Some counterfeits are bought by mistake but a vast number are bought with the knowledge that these are counterfeit products.

We found the latter statement holds true from a baseline survey that resulted from IPOPHL and WIPO’s collaboration in 2021. Among 10 items surveyed, seven items each saw over 50 percent of respondents admitting they knew the item was counterfeit when they bought it.

The highest proportions were in DVDs or Blu-ray discs, designer clothing labels and music CDs with, respectively, 88 percent, 85 percent and 80 percent of buyers saying they knew they were purchasing a fake.

This was followed by buyers of clothing at 79 percent, mobile chargers and accessories at 78 percent, cosmetics at 65 percent, and household cleaning products at 51 percent.

Some people find it fashionable and frugal to obtain luxury brands for much less than the prices of the real thing. For some, finding the cheapest counterfeits online has become a thrilling hunt among friends.

It’s indeed a challenge to debunk the lie that counterfeiting, particularly of non-food and non-drug related items, is a victimless crime. But the effects of counterfeiting could be more understood in the ways a typhoon affects us. While some manage to stay dry throughout the downpour, it does not signify that its wrath did not wreak havoc elsewhere.

The havoc of counterfeiting unleashes a series of negative consequences not always immediately visible to the naked eye: a bad rap on a brand that has built its name on quality products and services; a possible boost for bad actors who, uncaught and even patronized, become empowered to do more illegal trade; and the lost opportunity to elevate social welfare services and public resources to better the lives of Filipinos due to foregone taxes.

This are the “unseen” effects of the P35.24 -billion worth of counterfeit goods seized by the National Committee on IP Rights (NCIPR) in the first nine months of this year. The figure marks a historic high that surpassed the NCIPR’s entire 2023 haul amounting to P26.89 billion.

It may be hard to qualify the increase as an implosion of counterfeiting in the country — some items, such as luxury goods, may have driven the increase. But one thing is true about these seizure operations: the 15-member interagency committee that is the NCIPR has been relentless in rooting out fake goods that undermine the trust and fairness we want to uphold in the marketplace. We have been coordinating more deeply and more regularly than ever, exchanging notes to build cases against possible IP violators, intent on putting these malicious traders behind bars.

The Bureau of Customs, whose seizure operations account for 99 percent of the haul by value, makes for a laudable example. Its commitment to protect consumers and IP rights holders only solidifies with each warehouse for counterfeits that it shutters.

Inevitably, many consumers are finding it hard to see the future effects that their choices bring as their mindsets are often bound to finding the cheapest buys. As we NCIPR members gather today at our annual High-Level Meeting, the goal to transform the consumer mindset will again be high up on our agenda. All hands will be on deck once more.

But this time, we might need to draw up new and more innovative strategies to convince the public to think before they shop, to look to the future beyond the short-term gratification of finding a cheap but fake item.