Sometimes being at the top is tough, as Nippon Paint, one of Asia's largest and most successful paint manufacturers, has learned. Everyone wants a piece of the action and some are willing to fake it to get it. Within China, several companies have used the brand's name as their own to pass off their products as Nippon Paint.

Nippon Paint has fought the counterfeit issue very actively throughout the past decade. Nippon Paint has set up an enquiry system for consumers to verify products.

All real products of Nippon Paint can be identified through 10 number codes. Consumers can use these codes to find out whether the products match their name, alongside information on production date, batch and factory site.

For those who find themselves a victim of counterfeiting despite having been to an official store, Nippon Paint has made a nationwide promise: all consumers who have brought a fake product from an official Nippon Paint shop in China will receive 10 real products of the same kind as compensation.

"Our hope is to leverage and combine the joint forces of consumers and the media to strike down on counterfeit products," said Ariel Wu, PR and Brand Communication Director of Nippon Paint China.

Nippon Paint also cooperates closely with the Administration for Industry and Commerce throughout the country to minimize the amount of counterfeits that enter the market.

The company's annual reports reflect this cooperation. In a typical year, Nippon Paint cooperates with local authorities to investigate intellectual property violations at least 100 times. Nippon Paint appreciates all industry and commerce law enforcers' support and works as a team to protect customer rights and maintain the credibility of Nippon Paint.

Even without a bilateral cooperation with industry and commerce law enforcers, Nippon Paint's repertoire for tackling counterfeiters is impressive. In 2011, 370 cases of action against counterfeits were conducted by Nippon Paint nationwide, who were acting independently.

Despite the counterfeit issues that stand in its way, Nippon Paint maintains its strong market reputation of beautifying walls everywhere and protecting consumer rights.

For more information go to www.nipponpaint.com.cn, call 800-810-1687/400-885-1687 or visit one of the many stores throughout the country.

Global Times