Corporate Espionage: Counterfeit Brands | Product Counterfeiting | Product Piracy

Hamburg, with its port and hinterland connections, is particularly a hub for the trade in counterfeit products. It is therefore not surprising that in 2014 the judiciary, together with the Bucerius Law School, convened a specialist conference under the motto "Product Piracy and Industrial Espionage – Threat to Economy and Society". Among the speakers was Hans-Georg Maaßen, at the time President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Each year, thousands of often deceptively authentic counterfeit branded goods flood European markets. Everyone knows them: Bundesliga football shirts on Turkish market stalls at knockdown prices, Breitling watches, Rolex, Omega, and the like sold for just a few euros at the weekly market.

 

The Kurtz Detective Agency Hamburg works closely with experts in trademark law. Our specialists are deployed to identify counterfeit and imitation products. We then trace the distribution channels of these illegal goods and ensure your claim for damages and injunctive relief. Let the Kurtz Corporate Detective Agency Hamburg support you in protecting your intellectual property: +49 40 2320 5053.

Copyright graphic; Hamburg Detective, Hamburg Counterfeit Expert, Hamburg Detective Agency, Hamburg Detective Service

Billions in losses for companies, thousands of jobs lost in Germany

In all areas of copyright and patent law, blatant copying occurs. Even at official German trade fairs, pirated copies and plagiarised goods are openly offered for sale. German companies suffer billions in damages, and German workers lose their livelihoods.

 

Product piracy and industrial espionage have long become a highly profitable field for criminals. According to estimates by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the German economy loses more than 50 billion euros in annual turnover in this way. In the European Union in 2013, around 35 million counterfeit products with a resale value of 760 million euros were seized – of which the German customs authorities alone secured goods worth more than 130 million euros.

Counterfeit medicines on container ships in the Port of Hamburg

Case in Hamburg, 2014: A container loaded with upholstered furniture from China arrived at the Port of Hamburg and appeared suspicious to customs officers. They inspected the box in the container screening facility. Some chairs showed irregularities in the X-ray images, prompting the officers to examine the cheaply assembled furniture more closely. Inside, alongside styrofoam filler, they discovered 102,000 counterfeit Viagra tablets. Estimated black-market value: up to 500,000 euros. The address on the shipping manifest in Wilhelmsburg turned out to be an empty building with a mailbox.

Container terminal, Port of Hamburg, a container ship in the water, numerous temporarily stored containers and cranes; Kurtz Detective Agency Hamburg, Corporate Detective Agency Hamburg, Corporate Detective Hamburg, Business Investigator Hamburg

Customs randomly inspect container shipments at the Port of Hamburg using container screening facilities for smuggled goods.

Software counterfeiting in Hamburg

Another case, which occurred in 2013 in Hamburg: Microsoft reported that professional counterfeits of Windows operating system discs, up to 4,000 units, were being sold on the eBay platform by various sellers. Investigations in Hamburg identified nine sellers (aged 27 to 42, various nationalities). Search warrants were executed, and extensive evidence was secured, including computers containing incriminating data carriers and written records. Additionally, authorities found around 2,000 data carriers corresponding to the counterfeits described by Microsoft. These were pressings that were very difficult to distinguish from the originals due to their quality. The accused openly used their private residential addresses to register on eBay.