Ed Weisz, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Intellectual Property Department, discusses the legal issues surrounding counterfeit items in a Women’s Wear Daily article titled “Counterpunch – The Legal Implications Between Knockoffs and Illegal Goods.” The article discusses the small but significant distinctions between counterfeit, knockoff and replica goods, and the legal issues surrounding each. Ed explains that trademark laws are “designed to protect the public from being deceived into thinking that the goods being purchased are from a different source.” Ed notes that, “As a result, it is easier for a consumer to be deceived with respect to counterfeit goods – as opposed to a knockoff product – and, as a result, damages against the counterfeiter can be more severe, and easier for a plaintiff to obtain.”