Imitation Nation

AI being used to do fraud at scale, including a report from Europol, and a report from Food and Beverage Magazine. Also, AI is being used to generate patent applications, which is probably going to bury a lesser-staffed USPTO.

Shabbir talked about the Amazon Brand Protection Report, which makes him want legislation to ensure all marketplaces work hard to avoid counterfeit products. Shein’s troubles trying (or not trying) to rid their platform of counterfeit Coach bags is worth a listen.

Finally we talk about the same problems in Europe, where it’s estimated that 85% of products from low cost online platforms are counterfeit, and their de minimis problem is three times as big as the United States at 4.6bn packages a year.

Sven would like you to take a moment and appreciate the Plagarius Awards, given to best counterfeit products found online each year.