Other companies are taking similar precautions to authenticate their products. In doing so, it is important to analyze the counterfeiting problem in the context of the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution system for that product. Legal scholars have begun to suggest that manufacturers may have an obligation under civil tort law to take steps to prevent counterfeiting. A recent article by Arthur Best in Currents International Law Journal argues that manufacturers may be held liable for injuries suffered by innocent purchasers of the defective product imitations if certain conditions are met. Certainly, the problem is foreseeable, and the Glaxo example suggests that counterfeiting is preventable.
Recent data suggest that the fight can even be profitable.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers have the opportunity to maintain consumer confidence, market share, and investor support through appropriate systems that include holographic and other security packaging. Packaging suppliers also have an opportunity to provide these value-added solutions. IHMA represents more than 60 holography makers. Lewis Kontnik publishes Authentication News . Post them in our Members' Discussion Forums .