Counterfeits have always come with their own vocabulary. Over the last few years words like “knockoffs,” “reps” or “replicas” and even - somewhat cheekily - “inspired” have been eclipsed by “dupes”. It’s a well-chosen term.
Whereas before counterfeit goods were happy to look like the real things and would sometimes having copied/included the original brand’s trade mark on their products and sometimes not, dupes want to faithfully duplicate every aspect.
Worryingly, a trend that began with dupe products has now spawned dupe influencers to keep pace with the way people buy from social media.
An influencer is someone who promotes the products they like to their large social media followings to encourage them to buy them so they can be just like their favourite influencers. Influencers are now a vital part of the fashion industry. For many brands their influencers are just as important as their own lifestyle marketing activities. The now limitless reach of social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok give influencers all they need to share content instantly and continually with followers over the world, access that has seen these influencers monetise their involvement at levels that would previously have been enjoyed by major celebrities.
A dupe influencer or ‘designer dupe’ is simply someone who does the same with counterfeit goods.
According to The American Apparel &Footwear Association (AAFA), the US’ trade association for the manufacturers and suppliers of apparel, footwear and travel goods, dupe influencers are now generating millions of sales of counterfeit goods via their channels. Their pitch is focused on the amount of money you save by buying dupes, that given the price of genuine products it is actually smarter to buy the fakes, especially for ‘everyday wear’ or to treat the one you love.
The only problem is counterfeits hurt more than lost sales on the part of trusted brands. They are illegal for good reason. Yes, a fake is a cheaper alternative to the genuine article. However, simply viewing them as a cheaper alternative product is incorrect and overlooks the health, product safety, environmental, ethical and child labour concerns related to the production and distribution of counterfeits.
Counterfeits are often produced with substandard or unsafe materials that can harm you or your children. As they are produced at the lowest possible rate, they are also highly unlikely to meet any recognised health, safety or environmental standards and the unsafe factories used by manufacturers often cause huge harm to the areas they are located in.
Counterfeiters are also often found to have close links to terrorist and organised crime groups.
There is also the damage dupes cause the economy. By the end of 2022, it was estimated that counterfeit goods caused a drop of between $1 and $2 trillion in legitimate brands’ global sales. This cannot continue. At the top level it will dissuade some of our leading creatives from continuing to innovate. The knock-on effect will be the loss of jobs. In 2013 counterfeit goods cost the world somewhere between 2m and 2.6m. That number doubled by 2022.
Is there any protection against counterfeiters, dupes and dupe influencers?
Counterfeit content on social media has rocketed. It is a huge problem for brands. It is also worsening with dupe influencers actively persuading their followers to buy fakes via their social media using a variety of tactics that mirror those legitimate influencers, for example unboxing, ‘hauls’, sponsorships and giveaways. They are even producing tutorial videos and their own shopping apps.
Thankfully legislation and case law are developing.
In 2020, Amazon sued two social media influencers who were promoting the counterfeit goods sold on Amazon by using hidden links in Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok posts. This could become a landmark case and persuade other major online retailers to take similar action.
In the US the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has put endorsement guidelines for influencers in place. These guidelines directly address fake reviews and undisclosed influencer endorsements and could end with civil penalties coming into force.
AAFA has also entered the fray making five recommendations to combat dupe influencer content on social media:
- Platforms must continue to clean up their sites
- Platforms should block #designerdupes and other related hastags
- Platforms must terminate the accounts of dupe influencers who repeatedly promote counterfeit products
- Dupe influencers need to improve their product disclaimers
- Consumers need to be better educated on the reach and impact of counterfeits
However, while the law and industry work on ways to solve the global impact of dupes, technology could provide brand owners with a lot of help, at least in identifying potential infringements online and on social media so the required enforcement action can be taken.
iProvidence is Potter Clarkson’s own online brand protection service.
It has been created to give brand owners instant access to state-of-the-art brand protection technology matched with the legal expertise of one of Europe’s leading IP law firms. iProvidence provides an all-seeing eye over the internet and finds, filters and takes action against any potential infringements or risks to your brand.
If you would like to trial iProvidence to see first-hand how it will help make protecting your brands online easier and more effective, please contact us today.
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