Cyveillance, a provider of what it calls “intelligent
Internet surveillance,” said an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Web sites are
selling luxury consumer goods this holiday season, and 10 to 20 percent of
those are peddling counterfeit wares.
These knock-offs and imitation goods are posing as elite brands such as Gucci,
Coach, Calvin Klein and Rolex, to name a few, the company said it found in a
recent study. The study is based on a detailed analysis of more than 150,000
Web pages.
“Children’s toys are not the only items being counterfeited and sold over the
Internet this holiday,” said Brandy Thomas, CEO and chairman of Cyveillance, whose patent-pending
technology protects well-known brands against devaluation and loss of
marketshare due to misuse on the Internet.
“The Internet has become a hotbed for sale of counterfeit luxury items that
you might typically find on any street corner in New York City–watches,
pens, sunglasses, leather goods, you name it. Like in the streets of New York,
prices that seem too good to be true, usually are,” he said.
“The Internet is a powerful medium that currently reaches more than 100
million people,” said Christopher Young, Cyveillance president and COO. “With
every click of the mouse, companies are increasingly at risk of losing
significant marketshare due to brand confusion and devaluation of their image
while cheap imitations become ever more accessible over the Internet. Internet
pirates are costing companies billions by illegally distributing counterfeit
versions of their products.”
Cyveillance is a privately held company that uses its proprietary technology
to locate sites that are using the Internet to illegally distribute companies’
products and damage corporate images online. The company offers products that
help customers identify and take action against infringements in the areas of
e-commerce, copyright and trademarks, pornography and image/online rumors.
