In a bid to kill piracy, HP joined the Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) Global Leadership Group, an organisation set up to protect intellectual property rights.
The company is well-known for cracking down on counterfeit HP ink cartridges. It has anti-counterfeit hotlines in countries across the globe and conducts its own investigations into counterfeiting. The company conducted 4620 investigations between 2005 and 2008, leading to the seizure of more than $US795 million in counterfeit products.
Additionally, HP has a website where customers can view information on how to identify counterfeit products, and HP products are fixed with a seal.
However, the counterfeiting industry is still causing HP serious losses; of a net estimated $3 billion lost last year, HP lost around $1 billion, according to global market researcher IDC.
“The manufacturing and illicit sale of counterfeit products is a global problem that spans across many industries and shows no signs of slowing down, especially during tough economic times,” said Stephen Nigro, senior vice president, Inkjet and Web Solutions business, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “We are eager to exchange ideas, key learnings and best practices with other BASCAP members in an effort to strengthen global anti-counterfeiting efforts.”
HP will retain its full-time Anti-Counterfeiting Force, based in Singapore.
