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In the bowels of companies like Hewlett-Packard, an elite team consisting largely of former law enforcement personnel is currently at work and planning a series of clandestine raids around the world. .
Their target: ink cartridges and counterfeit ink cartridges. According to the Imaging Supplies Coalition, the annual market for counterfeit printer cartridges represents a market value of about $ 3.5 billion. To combat this problem, manufacturers and other interested parties have collaborated extensively with law enforcement forces around the world to track and loot these hackers from the printer.
To learn more about the world of counterfeit printer supplies, I spoke with Andy Binder, Vice President of HP & amp; General Manager of Office Supplies and Solutions, explaining how his company is responding – and why it might be of interest to consumers.
Imagine that I am a foreigner from Mars and that I do not know anything about counterfeiting. Tell me about the world of counterfeit printers from brands such as HP.
First, it is probably best to define what counterfeiting is. This is when someone intentionally misleads someone into believing that he is buying something like a specific brand when that is not the case. Counterfeiting in the supplies sector occurs where customers buy something – usually because of & nbsp; using the HP trademark or logos, etc. – and that they think buy genuine HP supplies and that they get something else inside the box.
As a result, what types of products in HP's portfolio are primarily related to & nbsp; concerns?
This is probably the biggest concern regarding our printer consumables. I would say that about 85% of the problem concerns the toner sector and about 15% on the ink side. There are also a number of accessories that tend to be counterfeit. Things like batteries and power cords. On the computer side, we see it too. & Nbsp;
Be careful: your printing products could be fake!
HP
When someone buys these things, where do they tend to buy them? Do they buy them at legitimate office supply stores, or in an alleyway in the shade?
They do not tend to buy them through well established and well known channels. Where they find it are online markets or emerging markets. There are shops and malls in which small businesses do not necessarily have names that people recognize, and we tend to see the problem exist in areas where someone does not have a name brand that he's trying to protect. So it can be anywhere. We see a lot of things online, but we also see it in physical markets around the world.
You are facing a global problem in different countries, with different laws and different governments. This should make the problem difficult to deal with when dealing with international borders and some countries that can not & nbsp; see intellectual property in the same way as the United States. & Nbsp;
Well, that definitely adds to the challenge, because it is essential for us to work with law enforcement so that we can act, so that HP can not literally take unilateral action against counterfeiters. We must work with the forces of order. In some countries, they are therefore very vigilant. They do not want counterfeiting on their markets and the forces of order are therefore very aggressive and take all the tracks we give them to exile them. In other markets, it is less of a priority and so it is much more of a challenge for us to act. So we have different solutions to counterfeiting without being totally dependent on the government to do it for us.
What is the extent of the problem of counterfeiting? And why is it a problem for consumers, as opposed to your brand? Basically: What are the disadvantages for us as consumers?
Sure. Let's talk about the size of the problem first. Thus, the Imaging Supplies Coalition, a coalition of printer manufacturers around the world, estimates that the problem of counterfeiting represents about $ 3 billion a year for the only printing supplies industry. . This is a very important problem.
Our experience with customers is that they are thinking of buying a high quality HP print consumable. In fact, they get a counterfeit cartridge of poor quality. This can have a negative impact on the environment and, of course, poor printer performance.
It also has an impact on many jobs. & Nbsp; Many legitimate jobs in the manufacturing sector have been created in the production of cartridges. Much of the counterfeit products are manufactured in what I would say are non-standard manufacturing facilities that pose a higher risk of workplace safety, health, and well-being problems for the people who actually produce these products. cartridges.
If they take shortcuts, which is usually the case, they will obviously not use the best components, and some things can have a negative impact on the consumer, for example on the quality of the product. indoor air. We find that many of these imitations really do not pay attention to anything like that. In the tests we performed, 100% of these products failed, such as indoor air quality tests, designed to protest against consumers. We also find that they tend to use recycled plastics and high concentrations of non-standard components that are hazardous to the environment. So there are many disadvantages with the use of these counterfeit cartridges, and customers need to be vigilant and understand what the effects are.
So, have you ever received calls from people calling customer service because of problems with the products, but only realizing that the product that poses them a problem is a counterfeit? How is it usually?
It happens all the time. The customer usually describes what he bought and where he bought it. It is obvious that any damage to the printer resulting from the purchase of a counterfeit product can not be covered by a standard HP warranty. The customer will have to pay for repairs to his printers as a result of these failures or find a way to replace this cartridge.
Is this a fairly common scenario where a customer is like, "Something is happening here." It does not work well. And then the representative on the phone is able to understand: "Oh, you bought a counterfeit cartridge." Is it a common conversation?
Yes, and it depends on the market, so in a place like the United States, it's probably more rare. But in the emerging market, this is not a surprising event. I've personally been involved where customers have called and told me, "Hey, I've never had a problem with your supplies before, but now, this thing is leaving to escape toner on all my machine. " I would ask him a few questions, like, "Where did you buy it?" And very quickly, they found that they did not buy it from a legitimate source. So it was probably a counterfeit. & Nbsp; I asked some questions about the cartridge itself and it was quickly determined that it was not an authentic cartridge. I basically told them that they did not have what they thought they would buy.
In which regions is it the biggest problem and why?
It tends to be in emerging markets. Our big problems are in India and China. I think there are economic incentives for people there. They are more willing to take these risks on these types of markets, where a country like the United States or Western Europe would be less tolerant with respect to any type of counterfeit. I think there is more environment, where it is … well, I would not say it is allowed, but it is more prevalent and, therefore, it is more difficult for governments to take the measures that are required.
Let's talk about the raids for a second. Tell me about your way of working with the forces of order, raids are carried out.
This is a very interesting and cool part of the business. We have a group of regional investigators who oversee survey work around the world. These people most often have antecedents in the field of law enforcement and are therefore accustomed to being very aware of this type of behavior. They go out and follow the tracks. They establish a communication link with the local law enforcement agencies. Essentially, they build the file. They provide evidence, they monitor, and then bring it all to the local office and the law enforcement agencies for them to act.
HP often does this on behalf of other manufacturers as well, as some of the counterfeits are not only intended to counterfeit HP, they also manufacture them from the products of many other brands.
So we work with local officials and submit the file. They go through the appropriate approval processes and then take action. Sometimes it's in the markets, as in physical stores, where they go to shop, confiscate all products and arrest the person. In other cases, we find manufacturing facilities where they can support the entire manufacturing facility and capture the components as well as the finished products that they have there – low.
Thus, in 2018, we conducted more than 500 searches and confiscated more than eight million units of counterfeit products and components. So it's a very important process that we have put together with a lot of raids in order to stay informed and really create a clean market for our consumers.
And who are these guys who are looted? Are they career criminals? Are they teenagers who googlent how to make fake ink cartridges? Who are these guys?
I think it's a mix, but I think it tends to be a group of people who are sort of a career, operating at the limit of legitimacy in the companies that they practice. So we see a lot of clear counterfeits, and these are not just our products. I think they're going & nbsp; go wherever they can make a profit and try to take advantage of these market opportunities. This is not just printing supplies. As I said, they could also use power cables, batteries, and so on. They see an opportunity to make money and not respect the laws. I think that they have abandoned that, so I think we tend to see people who have problems before embarking on this type of business.
Do you guys like a control center, almost a war room, where you track down counterfeiters and plan your collection of evidence and possible raids?
Well, we do it. As part of our response to counterfeiting, we have a [inaudible] Investigation team. So it's centralized. We have a central manager who manages all regions for this purpose. We therefore identify and prioritize the regions or cities in which we want to raid, impose coercive measures and set priorities for the company. So it's sort of centralized, but as I said, we have a large team around the world acting in some way on the instructions of this team. To make sure we follow all the rules, you need a list of strategies that best represents HP.
So, when you or the forces of order confiscate these badets, do you do a chemical badysis on them to determine their nature? What are some of the things you discover when performing these tests?
I do not know if we necessarily test these elements, but we do know the composition of the various components that make it a counterfeit cartridge. As I have already mentioned, one of the first things people do is to counterfeit the cardboard. So we have basic security labels that distinguish genuine HP products from other vendors. & Nbsp; We have technology similar to what we use in US currency, so we can look at this label and determine if it is & nbsp; from a copy or & nbsp; from an original. Now, & nbsp; because these labels are so good and difficult to reproduce, we have seen some examples of cases where counterfeiters have actually reused our cartons. In countries like India and China, there are literally people picking up HP's empty boxes and then using them & nbsp; for & nbsp; their counterfeits.
In addition to the box, we have a test that we are doing on the cartridge inside. There are a number of key components on the cartridge that you can determine by looking at them whether they are HP origin or not. It is therefore the secondary test. We are able to examine the physical cartridge, its attributes and check this box to determine if it is an authentic HP consumable.
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In the bowels of companies like Hewlett-Packard, an elite team consisting largely of former law enforcement personnel is currently at work and planning a series of clandestine raids around the world. .
Their target: ink cartridges and counterfeit ink cartridges. According to the Imaging Supplies Coalition, the annual market for counterfeit printer cartridges represents a market value of about $ 3.5 billion. To combat this problem, manufacturers and other interested parties have collaborated extensively with law enforcement forces around the world to track and loot these hackers from the printer.
To learn more about the world of counterfeit printing supplies, I interviewed Andy Binder, Vice President and General Manager of HP's Office Supplies and Solutions Division, about his company's defense measures and their importance. for consumers.
Imagine that I am a stranger to Mars and that I do not know anything about counterfeiting. Tell me about the world of counterfeit printers from brands such as HP.
First, it is probably best to define what counterfeiting is. This is when someone intentionally misleads someone into believing that he is buying something like a specific brand when that is not the case. Counterfeiting in the supplies sector occurs where customers buy something – usually because they use the HP logo or logos, and so on. – and they are thinking of buying genuine HP supplies, and they are getting something else.
So, what types of products in HP's portfolio are primarily concerned?
This is probably the biggest concern regarding our printer consumables. I would say that about 85% of the problem concerns the toner sector and about 15% on the ink side. There are also a number of accessories that tend to be counterfeit. Things like batteries and power cords. On the computer side, we see it too.
Be careful: your printing products could be fake!
HP
When someone buys these things, where do they tend to buy them? Do they buy them at office supply stores, or in an alleyway in the shade?
They do not tend to buy them through well established and well known channels. Where they find it are online markets or emerging markets. There are shops and malls in which small businesses do not necessarily have names that people recognize, and we tend to see the problem exist in areas where someone does not have a name brand that he's trying to protect. So it can be anywhere. We see a lot of things online, but we also see it in physical markets around the world.
You are facing a global problem in different countries, with different laws and different governments. This should make the problem difficult to resolve when dealing with international borders and some countries do not consider IP in the same way as the United States.
Well, that definitely adds to the challenge, because it is essential for us to work with law enforcement so that we can act, so that HP can not literally take unilateral action against counterfeiters. We must work with the forces of order. In some countries, they are therefore very vigilant. They do not want counterfeiting on their markets and the forces of order are therefore very aggressive and take all the tracks we give them to exile them. In other markets, it is less of a priority and so it is much more of a challenge for us to act. So we have different solutions to counterfeiting without being totally dependent on the government to do it for us.
What is the extent of the problem of counterfeiting? And why is it a problem for consumers, as opposed to your brand? Basically: What are the disadvantages for us as consumers?
Sure. Let's talk about the size of the problem first. Thus, the Imaging Supplies Coalition, a coalition of printer manufacturers around the world, estimates that the problem of counterfeiting represents about $ 3 billion a year for the only printing supplies industry. . This is a very important problem.
In our experience, customers expect to purchase a high-quality HP print consumable. In fact, they get a counterfeit cartridge of poor quality. This can have a negative impact on the environment and, of course, poor printer performance.
It also has an impact on many jobs. The production of cartridges has created many legitimate jobs in the manufacturing sector. A lot of the counterfeit products are manufactured in what I would call non-standard manufacturing facilities presenting a higher risk of workplace safety, health and well-being problems of the people who actually produce these cartridges.
If they take shortcuts, which is usually the case, they will obviously not use the best components, and some things can have a negative impact on the consumer, for example on the quality of the product. indoor air. We find that many of these imitations really do not pay attention to anything like that. In the tests we performed, 100% of these products failed, such as indoor air quality tests, designed to protest against consumers. We also find that they tend to use recycled plastics and high concentrations of non-standard components that are hazardous to the environment. So there are many disadvantages with the use of these counterfeit cartridges, and customers need to be vigilant and understand what the effects are.
So, do you receive calls from people who call customer service because they have problems with the products, only to realize that the product that is causing them a problem is a counterfeit? How is it usually?
It happens all the time. The customer usually describes what he bought and where he bought it. It is obvious that any damage to the printer resulting from the purchase of a counterfeit product can not be covered by a standard HP warranty. The customer will have to pay for repairs to his printers as a result of these failures or find a way to replace this cartridge.
Is this a fairly common scenario in which a client says, "Something is happening here." It does not work well. And then, the representative on the phone is able to understand: "Oh, you bought a counterfeit cartridge." Is it a common conversation?
Yes, and it depends on the market, so in a place like the United States, it's probably more rare. But in the emerging market, this is not a surprising event. I've been involved myself where customers have called me and said, "Hey, I've never had a problem with your supplies before, but now, this something lets out toner on my machine. " I asked him a few questions, like, "Where did you buy it?" And very quickly, they realized that they were not buying it from a legitimate source, so it was probably counterfeit. I asked some questions about the cartridge itself. Quickly, it was determined that this was not an authentic cartridge. I basically tell them that they did not get what they thought they would buy.
In which regions is it the biggest problem and why?
It tends to be in emerging markets. Our big problems are in India and China. I think there are economic incentives for people there. They are more willing to take these risks on these types of markets, where a country like the United States or Western Europe would be less tolerant with respect to any type of counterfeit. I think there is more environment, where it is … well, I would not say it is allowed, but it is more prevalent and, therefore, it is more difficult for governments to take the measures that are required.
Let's talk about the raids for a second. Tell me about your way of working with the forces of order, raids are carried out.
This is a very interesting and cool part of the business. We have a group of regional investigators who oversee survey work around the world. These people most often have antecedents in the field of law enforcement and are therefore accustomed to being very aware of this type of behavior. They go out and follow the tracks. They establish a communication link with the local law enforcement agencies. Essentially, they build the file. They provide evidence, they monitor, and then bring it all to the local office and the law enforcement agencies for them to act.
HP often does this on behalf of other manufacturers as well, as some of the counterfeits are not only intended to counterfeit HP, they also manufacture them from the products of many other brands.
So we work with local officials and submit the file. They go through the appropriate approval processes and then take action. Sometimes it's in the markets, as in physical stores, where they go to shop, confiscate all products and arrest the person. In other cases, we find manufacturing facilities where they can support the entire manufacturing facility and capture the components as well as the finished products that they have there – low.
Thus, in 2018, we conducted more than 500 searches and confiscated more than eight million units of counterfeit products and components. So it's a very important process that we have put together with a lot of raids in order to stay informed and really create a clean market for our consumers.
And who are these guys who are looted? Are they career criminals? Are they teenagers who googlent how to make fake ink cartridges? Who are these guys?
I think it's a mix, but I think it tends to be a group of people who are sort of a career, operating at the limit of legitimacy in the companies that they practice. So we see a lot of clear counterfeits, and these are not just our products. I think that they go wherever they can make profits and try to take advantage of these market opportunities. This is not just printing supplies. As I said, they could also make power cords, batteries and other objects. They see an opportunity to make money and not respect the laws. I think that they have abandoned that, so I think we tend to see people who have problems before embarking on this type of business.
Do you guys like a control center, almost a war room, where you track down counterfeiters and plan your collection of evidence and possible raids?
Well, we do it. As part of our response to counterfeiting, we have a [inaudible] Investigation team. So it's centralized. We have a central manager who manages all regions for this purpose. We therefore identify and prioritize the regions or cities in which we want to raid, impose coercive measures and set priorities for the company. So it's sort of centralized, but as I said, we have a large team around the world acting in some way on the instructions of this team. To make sure we follow all the rules, you need a list of strategies that best represents HP.
So, when you or the forces of order confiscate these badets, do you do a chemical badysis on them to determine their nature? What are some of the things you discover when performing these tests?
I do not know if we necessarily test these elements, but we do know the composition of the various components that make it a counterfeit cartridge. As I have already mentioned, one of the first things people do is to counterfeit the cardboard. So we have basic security labels on them that distinguish genuine HP products from other vendors. We have technology similar to the one we use in US dollars. We can therefore examine this label and determine whether it is a copy or an original. Now, since these labels are so good and difficult to reproduce, we have seen some examples in which counterfeiters have actually reused our boxes. In countries like India and China, there are literally people collecting HP's empty boxes and then using them for their fake products.
In addition to the box, we have a test that we are doing on the cartridge inside. There are a number of key components on the cartridge that you can determine by looking at them whether they are HP origin or not. It is therefore the secondary test. We are able to examine the physical cartridge, its attributes and check this box to determine if it is an authentic HP consumable.
