'Counterfeit products may harm people in many ways': 65 percent consumer goods being sold are fake

The growing menace of counterfeit products has become a serious problem for buyers and the 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 percent 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 on Friday he said 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 said. 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. The counterfeit products may impede use of genuine goods, he added.
He was of the view that the poor quality of counterfeit products can prevent future use of genuine versions of these products. About the risks of various fake products he said that 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. Zulfiqar said that 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 highly caustic ingredients in many washing powders can also cause skin burns, he added.
The fake pesticides may not kill the pests; instead, these could lead to damaged crops and ultimately food shortage in the country, he said. The imitated cigarettes do not fall under any regulation, rather they often contain excessive levels of tar and nicotine, thus posing grave health risks to smokers, Zulfiqar said.
The spurious foodstuffs of all kinds, including tea, soft drinks and baby food are also on the rise, he said. He said there have also been reported incidents of fake toothpaste containing diethylene glycol, which is also found in anti-freeze mixtures. The chemical could harm young children and patients suffering from liver and kidney diseases, he added.
The counterfeit batteries are found to be either nearly dead, or made with inappropriate chemical ingredients, which may lead to an explosion, he said. There have been actual cases where fake mobile phone batteries have exploded when these were dropped or charged, he said.
Counterfeit perfumes can also be dangerous, as their contents are never subject to safety tests. Similarly, he said, the poor quality pirated books, CDs and DVDs are also being sold all over the country.
Zulfiqar said the stitching and finishing of counterfeit clothing is usually done poorly. The inferior fabrics also wear out and fade very soon, he added. The fake sunglasses of international quality brands can damage the eyes, as these do not provide any protection against ultraviolet rays, he warned.
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 that there is critical need to combat counterfeiting and piracy, which have also been found linked to public safety issues.