How Copycats Can Reveal Your Competitive Advantage

Imitation is becoming easier and faster as e-commerce, social media, and AI lower the barriers to copying successful products, services, and business practices. While

The problem of imitation—which ranges from illegal counterfeit to legal products intentionally designed to mimic another—is becoming more urgent for businesses. Recent figures suggest that both its scale and the channels through which it spreads are expanding rapidly. In the United States, customs authorities seized more than 78 million counterfeit goods in fiscal year 2025, more than twice the number seized a year earlier. Its estimated value had risen nearly 40% to more than $7.4 billion. In the EU, the value of counterfeit goods detained reached a record €3.8 billion, while the value intercepted at the EU border alone almost doubled in a year.