Over the past few months, we’ve given you plenty of food for thought on the subject of counterfeiting - from the dangers to drivers, passengers & other road users, to the cost implications to the global economy through to the immense damage done to brand, reputation, and the job market.

But have you ever wondered how we find out about these fake products: where in the world they are, how they are being sold and who is selling them? Or thought about the processes which must be followed to track and stop these parts from entering the supply chain in the first place – or indeed about the teams of people who work tirelessly behind the scenes of the ZF business to help keep us all safe and protected?

We decided to delve deeper into this area, to find out what really goes on behind the scenes.

Global fight – Global operation

ZF takes the subject of counterfeiting extremely seriously, and this is highlighted by the depth and breadth of its intellectual property team. The team is based at its departmental HQ in Germany, but as a sleek and well-orchestrated operation, the team’s reach is on a truly global scale.

It’s a complicated and murky world, but in terms of understanding, there are three major areas that the team work to eliminate: the counterfeit parts themselves, the copied packaging, and the fake advertisements and offers which are used to get the fake products into the market.

The team works closely with investigators, police, customs officers, ZF partners, and its own ZF technical and sales experts worldwide – and initial intelligence regarding potential infringement of intellectual property can be passed to them from any of these sources.

There are a number of things that the team looks out for when it comes to spotting fake products – but in many cases, these parts are visually indistinguishable to the originals at first glance. Before any raid can be organised, and when photographic evidence is not sufficient, the team must initiate test purchases of suspicious goods and send them to ZF locations to check the technical characteristics of the products in detail.

This team does not take any chances. If there’s ever any doubt over the integrity of the find, the confiscated items are forensically examined by the best in the business. The products are tested on a ZF test bench for functionality, technical performance, quality and longevity. And these tests take as long as they need to for the team to be certain.

Once the ZF team has firm intelligence of counterfeit products or packaging out there in the market, they must move quickly – often only having three working days to pounce based on local legal requirements and as part of the strategy that the counterfeiters use means they and the counterfeit products or packaging rarely stay in one place for very long.

And as counterfeiting is a global phenomenon, this is no easy task.

This part of the process starts with filing a request with the relevant local agency or authority asking them to start the governmental procedures and initiate a raid. Any raid carried out anywhere in the world is an administrative or criminal action, and ZF has no influence over how or when this is carried out.

Following a raid, the ZF team will be told what product has been found and in what numbers. And then it’s over to ZF to investigate – and ZF must bear the costs for this investigation - at least at first.

Anything found to be fake is immediately destroyed and the prosecution process begins. Illegal earnings are generally confiscated and punishments for the counterfeiters vary broadly, depending on the number of products, the economic effects, and the country where the intellectual property infringement happened.

Typically, it starts with a monetary penalty for first offenders and moves up to prison terms of months or even years for repeat offenders.

In some cases, there may be compensation payments or even punitive damages as part of the decision. If this happens, ZF invests this money back into the fight against the counterfeiters.

Fast Facts:

  • Most commonly faked ZF parts: ‘LEMFÖRDER’ chassis parts, ‘SACHS’ clutches, ‘TRW‘ brake pads & WABCO valves
  • The most ‘gruesome’ find: Formerly inflated airbags ‘remanufactured’ into the steering wheel with no functionality… now just imagine if your child was given a lift in this vehicle?

If you’d like to find out more about ZF’s ‘Keep it Real’ campaign, which includes a wealth of information on the importance of fitting genuine parts and the global scourge of counterfeiting, together with hints and tips for keeping your business and customers safe and protected, simply click here.