In more innocent times, counterfeiting and intellectual property theft were the preserve of hawkers of dodgy copies of dubious videos and bootleg concert recordings at car boot sales. But what was once a cottage industry has become a multi-tentacled international operation.

There has been an explosion in both the range and quantity of counterfeit goods. British authorities in 2006 and 2007 seized counterfeit designer sportswear, mineral water, cigarettes, razorblades, blood pressure tablets, skin-lightening creams, motorbikes, crane parts and a Dalek. Almost everything is being faked.

The fake trade rides on the back of globalisation. But while world trade has expanded by about 500 per cent in the past two decades, the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition says that counterfeiting has shot up by as much as 10,000 per cent.

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