WikiLeaks: Apple’s Fight Against Counterfeiters

Counterfeiting Apple’s products in this side of the world can have major repercussions for anyone who tries that. The issue is much more complicated in countries such as China. We have all seen iPhone and iPad clones in the past. Apparently, Apple start combating against counterfeiters only 3 years ago. A recently leaked Wikileaks memo suggests that Apple was clearly not ready to protect its intellectual properties around the globe just a few years ago. Apple was not that popular globally before the emergence of iPod and iPhone as powerhouses. Since then, it has had to deal with some companies cloning its products and their designs. Once Apple recognized the threat to its products in the Asian markets, it hired a team from Pfizer to combat against counterfeiters.

As the leaked documents suggests Apple has gone after retailers and tried to increase counterfeiters’ costs of doing business to slow them down:

In broad terms, the company will target retailers first to raise their costs and get counterfeit products off the street. Next, Shruhan will work with the authorities to crack down on
major manufacturers and distributors of fakes to undermine the supply of fake products. Finally, he will seek out vendors who sell knock-offs online.

Apple’s security team has also tried tracking the source of counterfeit goods. Unfortunately for Apple, its problems with counterfeiters are not solved all. Only a short while ago, we found out about entire Apple stores being copied in China. Many of these stores have been stopped already but there certainly are more of them around than we know about. Let’s not forget that counterfeiters are everywhere (including in the good old U.S). Apple has some fight on its hands.