Product Counterfeiting & Illicit Markets

Considering the steady and rapid growth of product counterfeiting and the damage it causes to society, it is important for criminology and criminal justice scholars to assist criminal justice officials, industry practitioners, and law makers in understanding the product counterfeiting problem and developing strategies to combat it. However, for researchers to be effective in their advisory role they must first establish what is known about product counterfeiting. As a first step in this process, we investigated relevant published research through…

The growth of the Internet has expanded e-commerce, opening a vast array of purchasing options for consumers while also increasing illicit sales. Such sales place consumers at risk. This study examines consumers’ decisions to purchase cigarettes and prescription pharmaceuticals, two highly regulated goods, from online vendors. Read More

This exploratory study examines the illicit market for counterfeit products sold through small businesses in the State of Michigan. Research on small businesses facilitating illicit markets and the efforts of nonfederal law enforcement agencies to identify these small business offenders has been scant. Read More

As the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) within the Executive Office of the President of the United States, Danny Marti leads efforts to develop a strategic plan on the enforcement of intellectual property rights and is responsible for coordinating efforts of federal agencies engaged in intellectual property policy and enforcement. Read More

Due to its considerable negative consequences, product counterfeiting is a global problem that is a growing concern for consumers, government entities, law enforcement, and businesses. Unfortunately, current assessments of the nature and extent of the problem are largely unreliable and based on methodologies with significant limitations. Read More