Zac Garthe
In the world of brand protection, the distinction between counterfeit and gray market products is crucial.
In short, selling counterfeit products is illegal. Someone else is trying to copy your brand's products in their own factory and sell them like they are genuine or authentic. Because it is illegal to sell counterfeit products, brands can request removal of counterfeit product listings from online sites with a high expectation that these products will be delisted.
In contrast, gray market products are the real deal—your authentic and genuine products produced at your factories. But they are being sold in places (or by people) where they should not be sold. This is typically from leakage in your supply chain, and is excruciatingly difficult to control. It is a common source of price erosion for brands, which can erode profit margins by as much as 21.8%, according to a 2008 study from KPMG. But it is not illegal to sell gray market goods (in most cases).
In order to control gray market products, specialized methods of removal by brand protection experts must be used. Sigil's expertise, and patent-pending new method of removal (Gating), lies in handling gray market products (as well as counterfeits).
Zac Garthe is the co-founder and CEO of Sigil. As an intellectual property attorney, he specialized in online enforcement and brand protection.
Making eCommerce honest.
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Sigil, Inc.
110 16th Street Mall
Denver, CO 80203
(720) 772-6727