Business lawsuits sometimes revolve around the sale of counterfeit goods. If you discover that another company has been illegally selling your designs or making products that look identical to yours, it may be a violation of your intellectual property rights. For that reason, you may want to sue the other company to recoup the money that you have lost and put an end to the illegal practice.
But one interesting thing to consider is how these counterfeit goods can have a major negative impact on your company’s reputation. This can harm your brand and make it less valuable than it would be otherwise. The problem is when consumers start to associate name-brand products with counterfeits, and then they are less likely to trust the name brand.
Developing a reputation
What sometimes happens is that goods will develop a reputation for frequently being fake. An example of this could be a Rolex watch. Rolex certainly makes excellent watches that have a high price point. But it’s also very common for people to make fakes that simply look the same but have a much lower quality.
When a consumer who actually wants a high-caliber watch goes out to buy one, are they less likely to buy a Rolex because they’re concerned that they could get a counterfeit? Are they less likely to buy it because they know that others will assume it is a counterfeit, so it doesn’t have the same level of prestige?
These issues help to demonstrate how counterfeits can harm your brand and cost you money long-term. Be sure you consider this while looking into all the legal options that you have as a business owner.