Counterfeit products are an issue across all industries, including ours.
OC will take proper and severe actions to cease and confiscate counterfeit products when possible. However, it would be impossible for OC to shut down the distribution of fake product. As a result, the BEST defense against fake product is promoting your company and company brand.
As we saw in 2019, a number of distributors have noticed an increase in Chinese manufactured fake OC products appearing in their market. Counterfeit products appear to be the same but generally are of poor quality and have not been vetted for safety. Selling counterfeit products are illegal and punishable by civil and criminal courts according to the trademark, copyright, and intellectual properties laws and regulations
What Can OC Do?
It would be impossible for OC to use legal methods to shut down or slow down counterfeits. As soon as one company is warned or shut down, two others appear. At times we have issued a legal injuction against local suppliers of counterfeit products. But these are almost always just short term fix. What we can do is continue to build a globally recognized brand and develop a product line that is unique and innovative.
What Can Distributors Do?
The best course of action is for distributors to take a proactive and repetitive approach to the issue.
As such distributors should do the following;
1. Issue a notice to all customers warning of the presence of fake products in the market.
2. Remind customers that safety and reliability cannot be guaranteed if they purchase fake product from another source.
3. Advise that to avoid confusion and false purchase, customers should only buy from you, the authorized distributor.
4. If possible, mark the product with a security seal or a distinguishing company mark.
KEEP DOING THESE THINGS! COUNTERFEITERS DON'T GO AWAY!
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