Trademark Counterfeiting | Product Forgery | Product Piracy

According to various surveys, over 50 percent of industrial companies in Germany have at some point discovered that they were victims of trademark and product piracy. Although imports into Germany are controlled through measures such as customs border seizure procedures, these primarily aim to remove counterfeits from the German market. The ideal scenario, of course, is the detection and dismantling of production and distribution channels. However, as the aforementioned surveys show, these measures are not sufficient.

 

The trademark experts and product forgery detectives of Kurtz Investigations Potsdam and Brandenburg are available both for checks of suspicious products or perpetrators and for court-admissible uncovering of the associated personal and corporate networks: +49 331 2785 0052.

AI-generated van Gogh imitation with elements of “Starry Night”; Counterfeit Expert, Trademark Detective Potsdam, Copyright Specialist, Detective Potsdam

This AI-generated image is, of course, not an authentic self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh. Yet most laypersons could probably be deceived by it. In general, artificial intelligence (AI) brings many new challenges for those combating plagiarism.

Trademark Experts: Investigating Intellectual Property Theft

Despite all your efforts, the technical controls, and the activities of customs, thousands of sometimes deceptively real counterfeit trademarks flood European markets each year. Everyone knows them: Bundesliga jerseys on Turkish market stalls for a bargain, Breitling, Rolex, Omega watches and the like for just a few euros at the weekly market. Yet this is only the tip of the iceberg.

 

In all areas of copyright and patent law, copying is rampant. Even at official German trade fairs, these pirated and counterfeit goods are openly displayed for sale. German companies suffer billions in damages, and German employees are deprived of their livelihoods.

 

Kurtz Investigations Potsdam and Brandenburg works closely with trademark law experts. Our specialists identify counterfeit and imitation products. We then investigate the distribution channels of these illegal goods and secure your claims for compensation and injunction.

 

Let Kurtz Investigations Potsdam and Brandenburg support you in the fight against the theft of your intellectual property: +49 331 2785 0052.

How to Identify Counterfeits

There are several ways to distinguish fakes from originals, including:

 

  • Price: If the price of the goods is significantly (over 50 percent) below usual market prices, they are often counterfeit.

  • Product Description Quality: Poor or missing descriptions, especially extreme linguistic errors, are a sign of forgery.

  • Sales Channels: Markets, street vendors, unofficial online shops, and various stalls in typical holiday countries (e.g., Turkey, Spain, Greece) may indicate fakes.

  • Brand Names and Logos: Often displayed with slight variations in letters or individual graphic symbols.

  • Seals and Watermarks: Either missing or poorly forged.