In a discussion on ‘Counterfeiting and Piracy’, in which industry leaders, corporate lawyers and copywriters took part, one of the speakers said that West Bengal, along with Delhi and Maharashtra, has the largest concentration of spurious goods.

An industry insider, requesting anonymity, said that with the opening of new trade routes such as the Nathu La Pass, the threat of counterfeit products looms large, particularly over West Bengal.

It is common to spot reputed brands of cosmetics being sold on sidewalks in Dalhousie. A little prodding and the hawkers will reveal that these are “imported” ones, he added.

“Lux, Dove, and Fair and Lovely are the three most counterfeited brands,” said Jayant Deshpande, Manager (legal) of Hindustan Unilever Limited.

According to industry insiders, unofficial estimates claimed that leading MNCs like Hindustan Unilever Limited lose around 2 per cent of their global turnover to counterfeit products. In India the firms could end up losing around 5 to 7 per cent of their turnover to counterfeit products.

The entry of product look-alikes has also pinched the brand manufacturers. “We had spent around Rs 2 crore to import the mould of a product from Korea. We had a design on the patent of the mould but in a matter of days, the market was flooded with its look-alikes,” said an official of a cosmetic company.

The music industry is also reeling under the onslaught of counterfeits but the panic button was hit with the illegal downloading of music tracks.