Manufacture and Sale of Counterfeit Goods Essay

Manufacture and Sale of Counterfeit Goods - Essay Example Peter Law, in his article, â€Å"A Call for more Sweatshop† and others who favor sweatshop labor argue that it provides a means of employment for the weaker section of the population which helps the lower income population to lead a better livelihood. In addition, such companies provide employment for women, and that would, in turn, help them to become more independent and self-supportive. While sweatshop labor does provide a means of employment for the people, the mental and physical turmoil endured by the employees is much more than the benefits gained. In addition, the manufacturing of fake goods by itself is illegal as it is a deliberate infringement of the intellectual property rights of companies that produce the original goods. Hence, stricter policies and judicial changes should be introduced to close down companies producing fake goods and help save the lives of millions of women and children who are forced to work under horrendous conditions. The production of fake or counterfeit products is a violation of intellectual property rights and it poses a significant threat to the world economy as both businesses as well as the consumers are at a loss. As mentioned by Goodwin, the intellectual property theft has affected the world economy to the tune of nearly $600 billion a year. The number of fake products being seized is increasing at an alarming rate with a recent report from the EU customs showing seizure of nearly 100 million products in 2001. This illegal trade is part of every sector such as the information technology sector, clothing, toy industry and pharmaceuticals to name a few and the global market of counterfeit products have risen from 3 billion a year to nearly 100 times more (Counterfeiting and Organised Crime). The sale of counterfeit products has risen sharply over the past decade. A recent report shows that both industrial and commercial counterfeiting represents about 5 to 7% of trade in the world.