Counterfeiting and Piracy: A Supply Chain Lunch & Learn

Publishers have seen instances of both piracy and counterfeiting rise over the past several years. Finding pirated content has evolved to a full-time pursuit at some publishers, particularly those selling books at higher price points.

The advent of AI may be fueling an explosion of counterfeit products, characterized by similar titles, author names, and even product identifiers. The growth of piracy and counterfeiting threatens the viability of both publishers and the retail platforms that feature counterfeit works.

What can a legitimate publisher do to find and fight against pirated and counterfeit works? How can publishers work with their retail partners to limit the impact of illegitimate sales? As it becomes easier to flood the marketplace with counterfeit works, will we need a different approach that keeps these works off retail platforms? And, do we need to be looking beyond the U.S. market?

This Lunch & Learn features speaker Roger Naggar, Senior Director of Publishing Operations at Macmillan. His remarks were followed by a conversation that includes questions, comments, and ideas from lunch-and-learn participants.