A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized copy of a genuine product, made to closely resemble the original so that a buyer is misled into believing it is authentic. Commonly counterfeited goods include money and government bonds, official documents, designer and luxury items, footwear and clothing, and consumables such as food, drink, medicine and personal care products. Counterfeiters typically use cheaper materials or production methods to profit from the gap between their costs and the value of the genuine product, and testing has found dangerous substances such as lead, arsenic and phthalates in counterfeit clothing and footwear. Counterfeit medicines and other consumables can contain harmful or inactive ingredients, so the practice carries public health risks beyond the financial harm done to the maker of the genuine product.
Facts
Classification CodeCounterfeiting covers three broad legal categories: forgery of money or government bonds, forgery of documents, and counterfeit goods that unlawfully use a registered trademark to mislead buyers into believing they are authentic. 1 Elements of OffenseCounterfeiting an item requires creating an imitation that closely resembles a genuine product so as to deceive others into believing it is authentic, typically using lower-quality materials or production methods than the original. 1 Notable ExampleThe United States Secret Service was originally organized primarily to combat the counterfeiting of United States dollars in the aftermath of the American Civil War, when both the Union and the Confederacy had printed counterfeit notes to try to destabilize each other's economy. 1 Jurisdiction VariationThe exact legal definitions of counterfeit goods and pirated goods vary by country, depending on each nation's intellectual property law, and some jurisdictions distinguish counterfeits, which copy a trademark or brand, from mere dupes or knockoffs, which copy only the physical appearance of a product. 1 Open Questions
Typical PenaltyNo single typical penalty exists; the penalty depends on which statute applies, currency law, trademark law or fraud law, and on the jurisdiction.
The cited source surveys the scale, categories and technology of counterfeiting rather than sentencing, so no single typical penalty could honestly be stated as attested. Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary Offense 1 Sources
1. Counterfeit (Wikipedia)
WikipediaCounterfeit goods section
Counterfeit goods are products that illegally use a registered trademark on items identical or similar to the original, designed to mislead buyers into thinking they are purchasing authentic products.
lead paragraph
Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original to deceive others into believing it is authentic.
Counterfeit goods section, dupes note
The exact definitions of both counterfeit and pirated goods can vary by country, depending on local intellectual property laws.
Forgery of money or government bonds section
The United States Secret Service, mostly known for its guarding-of-officials task, was initially organized primarily to combat the counterfeiting of U.S. dollars in the wake of the American Civil War.
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