Counterfeiting and illicit drug sales. Effects on intellectual property rights

The ability of man to be inventive and creative has led to economic development and social progress, but also to the creation of a real danger to his health and life when talking about the counterfeit and falsified drug market. Ensuring the observance of intellectual property rights is essential worldwide in public health or safety policies, as counterfeiting poses a threat to people. The consequences of medication counterfeiting on health are quite difficult to assess. The methods of counterfeiting and the ways in which such drugs reach consumers are diverse. We are talking about direct sale, import, packaging change (original packaging, but counterfeited drug), falsification of the prospectus or attachment of a leaflet in another language, application of counterfeit (holograms) on packaging, advertisements, on the Internet, by press, fictitious terms of validity. The paper analyzes the national provisions containing regulations related to the sale and counterfeiting of medicines, as well as the European ones in the field, as well as the measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of their use. There are also some examples of this case related to illicit selling and counterfeiting of medicines.