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Back in the day, spotting a fake was way easier to spot: a wonky logo, a zip that jammed on the first tug or packaging that looked like it had been printed on a printer at home. Better manufacturing, design and printing technology has made it easier to produce convincing copies, giving counterfeiters access to tools that can make fake products look quite legit.

On the other hand, lots of brands are now also using technology to give products digital identities, monitor supply chains and spot dodgy listings. In some cases, the same technology making counterfeits easier to produce is also giving brands better ways to find them.

How Technology Is Helping Counterfeiters Make Better Fakes

3D printing and design software have made it easier to reproduce certain shapes and components without the same level of traditional manufacturing equipment. The World Economic Forum has previously highlighted how 3D printing can lower counterfeiters’ production costs and allow them to make goods closer to the markets where they are sold, reducing the need to move them across borders.

Printing technology has also made packaging easier to copy; high-resolution printers can reproduce logos, colours and other visual details that basically look identical to the originals. The World Economic Forum says that counterfeit goods can also be given a greater appearance of legitimacy through fake guarantee documents and quality seals.

Online marketplaces also allow counterfeiters to use professional-looking photographs, copied descriptions and proper looking listings to make fake products look genuine before a customer has even seen the product themselves.

How Brands Are Using Technology To Detect Counterfeits

Brands are using technology to give products their own digital identity. QR codes and NFC tags can connect an individual product to information stored by the brand, which allows customers or retailers to check whether an item is genuine or not.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) also highlights technologies such as copy detection patterns, which can be printed onto packaging or products and then checked using an algorithm to identify whether the pattern is an original or a copy. EUIPO has also developed an authentication infrastructure using digital product identities and blockchain to help brands and enforcement authorities verify products and track information through the supply chain.

AI is another tool being used to spot suspicious products and listings – Amazon says it uses AI and other automated technology to identify potential counterfeit and infringement activity Its 2024 Brand Protection Report says its proactive controls blocked more than 99% of suspected infringing listings before a brand had to report them.

Amazon also uses product-level authentication through its transparency programme. According to Amazon, the system gives individual units unique codes that can be scanned through the supply chain and by customers to verify whether a product is genuine. Amazon says more than 2.5 billion product units had been verified through Transparency by the end of 2024.

Can Technology Stay Ahead Of Counterfeiters?

Technology hasn’t made counterfeiting disappear, instead, it has given both sides better tools. Counterfeiters can use modern manufacturing and digital tools to make more convincing products, while brands can use AI, tracking systems and authentication technology to identify them.

A QR code or digital record isn’t automatically proof that something is genuine either. The system behind it still needs to be properly managed, which is why anti-counterfeiting technology can involve everything from the manufacturing process to the moment a customer checks a product.

Technology Meets Counterfeiting

The days when a fake could always be spotted by a wonky logo are long gone and technology has now made counterfeit production a lot more advanced, but it has also given brands new ways to check what is real.