Counterfeit Experts in Product Piracy

For expensive, attention-seeking possessions, lifestyles, accessories and status symbols, value has been placed since time immemorial; one need only think of lavish Roman festivities in ornate palaces or treasure-filled pyramids and pharaohs’ tombs in ancient Egypt. Today, this status – at least its worldly side – is represented by everyday luxury in the form of designer clothing, luxury watches and the like, but luxurious homes, expensive cars and costly short trips to southern destinations also form part of the modern consumer who demonstrates that material possession has always been and remains a desirable (life) goal. Problematic in this striving for (luxury) possessions are the high purchase costs. As an example, consider the EUR 5,000 price tag for a designer handbag from a famous Paris-based fashion house or sports cars valued like single-family homes – items that not everyone can afford.

Astute fraudsters and counterfeiters have therefore spent decades exploiting this issue in the brand and luxury sector by offering cheaply made – usually in East and Southeast Asia – yet sometimes deceptively authentic counterfeits of popular branded products at bargain prices, whether it be a Chanel handbag, a golden Rolex or the Omega wristwatch, whether it be automotive accessories from the luxury segment, beauty products from renowned cosmetics manufacturers, football shirts from the Premier League, Bundesliga, Primera División or other top-tier leagues, fashionable Nike sneakers and much more. With their inexpensive offers, counterfeiters naturally appeal to less affluent citizens who would like to possess the products shown in the media but cannot afford them at official prices and therefore accept counterfeits. The reasons why the police, customs authorities and corporate investigators such as those at Kurtz Investigations Frankfurt are pursuing the manufacturers of such counterfeits are manifold and are addressed in the following text.

Frankfurt am Main is THE Hub for Product Counterfeits – Kurtz Detective Agency Frankfurt Investigates

Our brand investigators from Frankfurt/Main encounter the most brazen counterfeits, sold to unsuspecting buyers for vast sums despite a real market value of only a few euros but perceived by them as bargains for supposedly “genuine” Louboutin high heels, for example. The often sobering realisation after a brand inspection by the specialists of Kurtz Detective Agency Frankfurt regarding the true value and authenticity is accordingly bitter and disappointing. Particularly in the Hessian financial metropolis, inspections by our commercial investigators from Kurtz Investigations Frankfurt/Main are especially frequent and important:

“Mainhattan” is listed every year in the Mercer study as the second most expensive city in Germany (after Munich) and among the 100 most expensive cities in the world; those who live here and wish to keep up with “high society” must therefore earn well and display the expensive lifestyle outwardly. Status symbols are taken for granted in Germany’s stock exchange city. With the largest airport in Germany (and the third largest in Europe after London-Heathrow and Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle), a vast opportunity opens up for smugglers and counterfeiters to transport fake goods into Germany and enter the country unnoticed among the 61 million passengers in 2015 alone. When required, Kurtz Investigations Frankfurt/Main works closely with customs investigators and the police (example) to identify fraudsters upon entry, reveal counterfeit brand products and thus save the state – and consumers – considerable costs, and above all to support the commissioning brand-owning company in its fight against increasingly brazen counterfeits and their associated losses. In 2013 alone, 3.9 million counterfeit items worth EUR 134 million were seized by the authorities.

Private Investigators from Frankfurt am Main Assist with the Inspection of Your Goods – Uncertainties are Eliminated

What many do not know: not only the counterfeiters and sellers of fake goods are liable to prosecution; buyers may also face criminal consequences because with their purchases they harm the relevant original manufacturer, for instance when they buy counterfeits during a holiday in Turkey or Tunisia, subsequently import them into Germany and thus support the intellectual theft committed by brand pirates. Single items are tolerated to a limited degree by customs, but once there is suspicion of commercial trading in counterfeit goods, leniency is rightly withdrawn. If you are unsure whether you have purchased a genuine branded product or merely a cheaply manufactured – but perhaps expensively paid – counterfeit, the product piracy specialists of Kurtz Detective Agency Frankfurt/Main will gladly assist you in inspecting the authenticity of your product or products and, if negative, in holding the seller accountable: +49 69 1201 8431. It is not uncommon that goods can be returned with the help of our investigators, the money reimbursed and the responsible dealer brought to justice.

However, these vendors are often only small-time criminals, while the actual manufacturers and counterfeiters remain undetected and unchallenged, continuing to harm globally renowned and popular brands and depriving them of their rightful income. To uncover the masterminds and structures of such organised product piracy, concerted and long-term investigations are necessary and require an appropriate budget to cover detective fees.

Intellectual Property – A Valuable Asset

Not least because of the upcoming World Intellectual Property Day on 26 April, it is worth recalling the damage caused even by purchasing a few counterfeit holiday souvenirs: while the number of unreported cases is presumably many times higher, experts believe that in the mechanical and plant engineering sector alone the annual damage amounts to EUR 8 billion; furthermore, the Handelsblatt reports 77 million jobs at risk across Europe in industries affected by counterfeiting. Therefore, the police, customs authorities and the brand specialists of Kurtz Detective Agency Frankfurt/Main urge all citizens to involve them in cases of dubious alleged brand purchases so that the authenticity of goods can be checked and offenders brought to justice. The potential danger to life posed by counterfeit vehicle parts or possibly toxic medicines and cosmetics should also be considered by anyone contemplating the purchase of counterfeit goods.

After all, according to the Handelsblatt, 36 percent of adults and around 60 percent of adolescents are willing to buy counterfeit goods to save money compared with the retail price of original manufacturers. Of course, not all purchases of counterfeit goods are made knowingly, which is why education must be provided from all sides and everyone bears responsibility towards the economy and themselves. By involving customs or our brand investigators in Frankfurt am Main, final certainty can be achieved and a fair market ensured. If you have doubts about the authenticity of your products, you can obtain free information from our commercial investigators about deployment and action options: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-frankfurt.de. Kurtz Investigations Frankfurt/Main is fully committed to your concerns.