There has been much discussion on the net this week and last about holding consumers (aka the general public) accountable for purchasing counterfeit goods. After all, if consumers don't demand it, counterfeiters won't make it. Right?

Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. What kept getting mentioned over and over again was that most consumers have no idea where the money from counterfeit products goes. They have no idea that money from counterfeits funds sweat shops, terrorism and other not-so-moral activities.

If a tree falls in an Empty Forest does it make a Sound?

Many times consumers don't actually know they are buying counterfeit goods. When you work for a brand protection company, it is easy to forget that most people have no clue that there is a multi-billion dollar industry dedicated to anti-counterfeiting and brand protection.

One InkSure employee told the following story: "I recently had coffee with a friend and started telling her about my work. In order to try and explain how we keep counterfeit goods out of the supply chain I took out my cell phone which has a hologram affixed to the battery. After explaining how holograms and taggants work she asked, 'But what is that sticker for?' "

This has happened to everyone in the anti-counterfeiting industry and goes to show how much the public does not know.  
Most consumers know that counterfeits steal profit from legitimate businesses but not much else. Most consumers would have a hard time making heads or tails out of the strategies and technologies used in anti-counterfeiting solutions. Most consumers also don't know much about the people and organizations that profit from counterfeit and would be hard-pressed to find any information about this.

Admitting that consumers are not educated enough to be held accountable for purchasing counterfeit goods actually brings up more questions than it answers:

• Are we, the brand protection and anti-counterfeiting industry supposed to educate the public?
• Should the media or the government be educating the public about counterfeiting and the moral issues and dangers?
• Is ignorance really an excuse?
• Isn't enough for the public to know that counterfeiting is stealing? Does it really matter where the money goes and that some counterfeit products are unsafe?