Fighting Fakes: Effective IP Anti-Counterfeiting Strategies for Consumer Products and Fashion

The counterfeit economy has grown too large to ignore — and the brands winning the war on fakes are rewriting the rules of brand protection.

Counterfeiting has become one of the most consequential threats facing consumer product and fashion companies today. According to a 2025 OECD-EUOIP report, counterfeit goods accounted for approximately $467 billion in global trade since 2021. Clothing, footwear, and leather goods are among the most impacted segments, accounting for 62% of seized counterfeit goods .

The financial damage extends well beyond lost sales. A MarkMonitor study found that nearly one in two brands are losing sales to counterfeits, with one in three reporting revenue drops of 10% or more. The authentication and brand protection market, valued at $2.99 billion in 2024, is projected to more than double to $7.64 billion by 2032 — a CAGR of 12.8% — a direct reflection of how seriously industry is now mobilizing.

For luxury brands in particular, the stakes are existential. Brand exclusivity, customer trust, and pricing power are all undermined when convincing fakes flood the market. And the problem isn't static: Entrupy's 2024 State of the Fake report found that nearly 9% of all authenticated items were unidentified as authentic — a rate that has been climbing year over year — and pawn networks have seen unidentified rates spike by an alarming 2%, driven in large part by the dramatic increase of live-shopping platforms and global digital marketplaces.

The counterfeit trade is forecast to reach $1.79 trillion by 2030. For consumer product and fashion brands, the question is not whether to invest in anti-counterfeiting strategy, but how quickly and comprehensively to build one.

No single technology or legal strategy defeats counterfeiting alone. The most effective brand protection programs layer multiple approaches across three dimensions:

Prevention — making genuine products hard to replicate, through advanced physical features, blockchain registration, and supply chain controls. Brands should register trademarks — including logos, product shapes, color combinations, and distinctive design elements — in every jurisdiction where they sell or manufacture, not just in their home market.

Detection — working with attorneys to monitor markets continuously leveraging AI-powered tools to identify fakes in online and offline channels before they proliferate.

Enforcement — pursuing counterfeiters aggressively through platform takedowns, customs seizures, and civil and criminal litigation, with coordinated law enforcement partnerships. Strong intellectual property registration underpins every other anti-counterfeiting strategy. Smart and strategic litigation remains a powerful deterrent (our attorneys have erradicated counterfeit networks and industries through pre-litigation and litigation strategies).

Across all three, brand owners should treat anti-counterfeiting data as a strategic intelligence asset. Knowing which geographies, channels, and product lines face the highest counterfeit volumes allows enforcement resources to be allocated where they matter most — and helps identify supply chain vulnerabilities.