While counterfeit goods are available almost everywhere online and offline, manufacturing and exportation is highly monopolized by a handful of countries. In the United States, the Department of Homeland Security reported seizures of counterfeit goods at U.S. borders have increased tenfold over the past two decades, with nearly 90 percent of seized products in 2018 arriving from mainland China or Hong Kong SAR, China.

The most recent trade deal between the United States and China, in 2020, requires both countries to combat the prevalence of counterfeit or pirated goods, advocating for effective enforcement actions when private platforms fail to prevent intellectual property (IP) infringement.

What does the counterfeiting problem look like today, and how has it has evolved in recent years? What is the role played by China? How are recent infrastructure projects, and particularly the new Silk Road network of trade routes connecting China and other regions, changing the conversation?

The guest of this new episode of Brand & New is Toe Su Aung, co-founder and director of Elipe Limited, a consultancy firm based in London, UK, that provides strategic government relations, corporate affairs, and communication services, including advising companies on IP protection. Before setting up her company, Ms. Aung spent 20 years at British American Tobacco, where she carried out a variety of roles, including leading the legal and corporate affairs teams on IP protection and policy issues, as well as driving global strategies for addressing illicit trade.

In addition, she has been an active INTA member for more than 15 years, including serving as the Association’s president in 2013. Currently, she is chair of the INTA Foundation.

Related Resources

About Toe Su Aung

Elipe Limited

China’s New Silk Road: Navigating the organized crime risk 

CNBC: Counterfeit goods from China are crushing American small businesses – and they’re calling on Trump to fight back

The China Insights Channel: The ‘New Silk Road’? Investing in China’s Belt and Road Initiative

INTA’s 2021 Annual Meeting Virtual+: Enforcement and Anticounterfeiting Track (November 17, 2021)

INTA: Addressing the Sale of Counterfeits on the Internet

INTA Fact Sheet on Counterfeiting 

INTA: Gen Z Insights: Brands and Counterfeit Products

INTA Gen Z Insights : Brands and Counterfeit Products, China Country Report

INTA Board Adopts Resolutions to Strengthen Anticounterfeiting Enforcement

INTA Foundation 

Buy Safe America Coalition report: The Counterfeit Silk Road – Impact of Counterfeit Consumer Products Smuggled into the United States

Strategic Sponsor—Enforcement and Anticounterfeiting, WANHUIDA Intellectual Property