Financial aspects of the counterfeit goods market

Chapter four provides a detailed account of the sources of capital to initiate and sustain a counterfeiting scheme, the settlement of payments in the business, costs incurred by counterfeiting entrepreneurs, and profits and investment of proceeds of counterfeiting.

Methodology and fieldwork

Chapter two presents the methods and data used by the research team. Recognising the value of different sources of data, the research adopted a mixed-methods approach. The combined expertise of the research team was utilised to incorporate approaches from social sciences, law and humanities.

Conclusion and future directions

The final chapter summarises the key findings of the research presented in the book. Studying the actors involved, their illicit practices, as well as their financial practices, highlights a blurred boundary between legality and illegality, online and offline, and global and local. This chapter suggests a critical departure from the discourses on ‘organised crime’ and crime-money and identifies some specific gaps that require further investigation.

The nature and dynamics of the counterfeiting business

Chapter three focuses on the nature and social organisation of the counterfeiting business. It examines the structures and actors involved in the business as well as their motivations, briefly explores the political economy of supply, and pays attention to the role of the internet in the trade.

Introduction

The first chapter outlines the book’s rationale and analytical approach. It introduces the reader to a number of complex and interdependent forces, processes and spaces that are analysed in the book.