Trademarks are the basis of much of the world’s economy. A trademark helps consumers recognize a product or company that may be known for its quality, integrity or high safety standards.

As it is difficult to stamp out any type of crime 100 percent, brand owners and law enforcement agencies are limited by budgets and rules to which many criminals are often not bound. Eventually, everyone does get caught.

We recommend only purchasing from an authorized dealer to guarantee yourself genuine goods. Brand owners usually have their dealers listed on their websites. If not, you may call their customer service department and ask them. Some brand owners actually have a section of their websites dedicated to educating consumers on how to identify fake goods.

It is a felony almost everywhere to sell counterfeit goods. Many sellers see jail time, and almost all of them pay steep civil penalties. Some municipalities have made purchasing counterfeit goods a crime, and laws are being passed regularly to tighten these.

Tell others not to buy counterfeits and set an example by not buying them yourself.

The next step would be to contact your local police department or the customer service department of the brands you see being counterfeited.

You are encouraging illegal activity, setting a poor example for children, contributing to organized crime and taking jobs from taxpayers.

If it was shipped from China, it is probably counterfeit. Otherwise, check with your local authorized retailer.

No. Many sellers of counterfeits price their products high for that reason. To deceive consumers into thinking it may be genuine.

We investigate the unauthorized use of trademarks, copyrights and patents to better enable brand owners, attorneys and law enforcement to implement appropriate strategy.

We are both! We are a fully licensed and insured Private Investigations firm, as well as an Internet venture.

Our management has been involved in investigating the sale/distribution of counterfeit goods since the early 1980s. When sellers turned to the Internet, we were there as well. Many online investigators think mere computer skills will help them catch counterfeiters. That is not true. A good IP Cybercrime investigator needs to have many years behind him/her in both arenas to be effective.

This company first opened in 2001. We were previously called The Holmes Detective Agency until 2005 when we realized our entire business was investigating IP (Intellectual Property) cases online. Hence IPCybercrime.com!

Over thirty years combined experience. Two of our Managers have been working full time in this business since the early 1990s and another since 2001. In fact, we carry experience going back to the 1980s as well, as two of our managers’ parents previously ran a similar detective agency.

After many years in California we felt that, in order for a company to grow, we must move to a city with a stronger job market and better laws conducive to small business. In 2006, Plano TX was noted as being the most affluent city in the US, and the greater Dallas area as America’s strongest job market.  We did move our Headquarters to the Dallas area although we still maintain an office in Los Angeles.

We do not, but highly recommend contacting the Federal Trade Commission regarding these matters.

Yes. We have $3,000,000 liability insurance.

Anyone who has a brand/trademark to protect.

Only from trademark owners or their designated agents, such as their attorneys.

Litigation Support, Major Case Consulting, Test Purchases, Investigative Buys, Trace Investigations, Auction Monitoring, & Internet Policing are some of our services.

Once the goods are received, the investigation begins immediately. With the exception of extremely difficult cases, a client can expect a full completed report within two weeks of receiving the goods.

Yes, we do require payment in advance.

Yes we do. We serve cease & desist letters and conduct covert purchases locally and all over the world.

Yes. In fact, we have had much success in this area.

We work regularly with Federal and local law enforcement all over the United States and Canada.

During the buy process, we utilize a very painstaking process while creating what we call the “Virtual Crime Scene”. Once the goods are received, we typically have all of the data we need to identify the suspect.

We do not work directly for the public in these matters, but recommend contacting the customer service department of the brand product you had received and report it to them to take possible action.

No. We are a full service detective agency, with a primary focus on intellectual property.

The violation of trademark, patent or copyright law utilizing Internet technology in part or in whole. Some examples are counterfeiting (watches, handbags, DVDs, etc.); peer-to-peer file sharing (songs, movies, software) & cybersquatting (the use of a trademarked name in a domain name). “IP” is an abbreviation for the term “Intellectual Property”. The phrase was first coined by our founder Rob Holmes in 2003.

First, if the price is too good to be true, it probably is. There is no way to tell from a photograph if the product you will receive will be counterfeit. Many counterfeiters use photographs of genuine goods to lure you to make the purchase.

There are large underground networks, much like distribution channels of legal products. Fake goods are commonly manufactured in China and distributed throughout the world.

All types of consumer products are affected by counterfeiting including apparel, accessories, electronics, electrical products, food, house ware, hardware, pharmaceuticals, sporting goods, toys and more.