Flood of fake packaging

Congress takes up bills aimed at fighting counterfeiters of packaging that is imported and used in the United States.

Pw 12911 Duraking

Outsourcing by United States’ manufacturers is a major issue in the 2004 presidential campaign. But there is an even seamier side of the issue you may not have heard about: outsourcing of counterfeit packaging.

Holograms for Microsoft Office software and overwraps for Duracell batteries (shown above), just to name two examples, are being manufactured in rogue Chinese and East European factories, shipped back to the United States and then put on product somewhere in America by counterfeiters who are—at least for now—beyond the reach of the law.

“Fake packaging has always been an issue, and like the growth in counterfeiting generally, it is getting worse,” explains Paul Fox, director of global external relations for Gillette Company, Boston, MA. The problem has grown so big that American companies have gone to Congress for help.

That is the backdrop to a House Judiciary Committee subcommittee’s passage of Rep. Lamar Smith’s (R-TX) Anti-counterfeiting Amendments of 2003 (H.R. 3632) on March 31.

That vote took place a week after the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on counterfeiting. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE), a senior Democrat on that committee, has introduced the Senate version of the House bill, called the Anticounterfeiting Act of 2004 (S. 2242). Both the House and Senate bills would allow the U.S. to prosecute counterfeiters who traffic in bogus packaging and labeling (rather than the product itself), including certificates of authenticity (COA) that incorporate special inks, holograms , and microtext into a packaging overwrap.

As interpreted by the courts, current federal criminal law allows counterfeiters to escape prosecution for trafficking in stolen goods by simply selling or distributing the counterfeit labels separately from the counterfeit products.

Annual Outlook Report: Automation & Robotics
What's in store for CPGs in 2025 and beyond? <i>Packaging World</i> editors explore the survey responses from 118 brand owners, CPG, and FMCG <i>Packaging World</i> readers for its new Annual Outlook Report.
Download
Annual Outlook Report: Automation & Robotics
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?
Discover which palletizing technology—robotic, conventional, or hybrid—will maximize your packaging line efficiency while minimizing long-term costs in this comprehensive analysis.
Read More
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?