TAF Connect panel battles counterfeiting through standards

Session two of TAF Connect consisted of a panel discussing standards which enable trust through policy, compliance and consumer protection. The session was chaired by Nakul Pasricha, vice-president ASPA.

The panel aimed to discern challenges related to standards, and how to enable trust through these standards. Pasricha started by pointing out how it is all about the trust that the consumer places in the product. He said, the trust should be in terms of the genuinity of the product, and will not adversely impact either financially or in terms of their health.

As a law advisory firm for brands, Vikrant Rana, managing partner of SS Rana highlighted three main acts from an IP perspective; Trademarks Act, the Copyright Act and the Customs Act. A trademark is not mandatory to be registered, but Rana advised to go for it. “You get statutory rights once you have a Trademark registered,” he said.

The second one is the copyright. Rana said, copyright comes in because of the artistic nature of the packaging. He added, “You can club the trademark and packaging. The artistic work of packaging can be connected with copyright law.” He said, in some cases, companies or brands can even file a case where the infringement is expected and has still not occurred.

From the lens of the Food and Drug Administration Maharashtra, Anupama Patil, assistant commissioner, said, the most effective way to battle for the FDA is regular audits, inspections and surveillance sampling. She highlighted different criteria of contraventions by the FDA such as spurious, substandard and adulteration.

Patil said, when it comes to the food sector, only 40% is formal, while the rest 60% is informal, making traceability in the food industry difficult. The sector needs expertise in terms of quality, and more inflow of scientists at the brands end. “Somewhere in the industry, we don’t have specialists who are well versed with the food safety regulations,” she added.

Umesh Kamble, vice-president, Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India), concurred. He said, “Creating standards is a shared responsibility and our association of food scientists and technologies are playing an important role.”

He laid out a five-step plan in order to define a standard and a set of rules. “First being the composition of the product; followed by the safety of that product; then labelling and the packaging; ensuring hygienic; and the fifth one is the process,” Kamble emphasised.

Keshav Kumar, IPS PhD, former joint director CBI, director general of Police and director of Anti-Corruption Bureau Gujarat, brought a different perspective. He shared that his expertise in investigation has been incisive investigation laced with forensic application and then thorough prosecution. His message was to keep innovating and thinking innovatively.

Pasricha mentioned that at the end of the day, the product goes to the consumer. He asked, “How do we make them aware”? Rana suggested making consumers aware about trademark products.

He called it a “double-edged sword”, using the PR and marketing strategies by the brands to spread the word about their trademark products. According to him, it has to be a holistic approach by the brand owners, consumers, commissioning bodies, children and more.

As per the ASPA-Crisil report, a considerable chunk of consumers deliberately opted for counterfeit products. Factors such as zero alternatives, cheaper options, and lack of awareness contributed to this purchase. Patil said, FDA and FSSAI is motivating consumers with awareness through different initiatives such as “Eat Right India”.