The Internet and the use of other sophisticated computerized equipment not only make it easier to produce counterfeit goods, but also facilitate mass production and new distribution channels for fake products.

With the dawn of the Information Age comes the ability to duplicate, change, alter and distribute just about anything.

The value of the worldwide counterfeit market is estimated to be US $280 billion in 2001 (PIRA International).

The online portion of the counterfeit market is estimated at 10% of the worldwide market (Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau). Online sales of counterfeit luxury goods are estimated to be worth US $25 billion per year (Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau). Between 50-70% of celebrity and sports collectibles in the US are counterfeit(FBI - Operation Bullpen). Depending on the period and the artist, 10-40% of all paintings for sale at any one time are fraudulent (New York Times).

No matter how sophisticated anti-counterfeiting measures have been in the past, backyard and organized pirates have been able to quickly overcome these measures and continue to produce illegal goods. Until now.