The UK Intellectual Property Office has recently launched a new awareness campaign “Fake Always Breaks” to highlight the dangers of counterfeit vehicle parts, the IPO defining such parts as ‘unauthorised copies of a genuine branded part’ whether that part is an original manufacturer or aftermarket part.The campaign targets the ever-growing industry of counterfeit automotive parts by highlighting that fake automotive parts are more likely to fail in use and offer poorer performance than genuine parts, posing an increased risk to vehicle occupants and other road users alike. Particularly concerning are large numbers of counterfeit safety-critical components such as brake parts, airbags, wheels, and tyres. A recent East London operation organised by the City of London Intellectual Property Crime Unit resulted in the seizure of 500 counterfeit airbags, highlighting the prominence of this issue.The scale of the counterfeit automotive parts market was brought to light by research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2016 which estimated that there were around £1Bn of counterfeit parts imported into the UK in that year. Whilst it may be thought that counterfeit parts are primarily sold to deceive the user, a survey by the IPO revealed that 58% of respondents who had purchased a counterfeit part had done so knowingly, with lower cost and no discernible difference in appearance being cited by significant (31% and 34% respectively) portions of these knowing buyers.The dangers of such counterfeit goods are apparent.Tyres are the only contact a road vehicle has with the road and as such must transmit the huge cornering and stopping forces associated with sudden manoeuvres and emergency braking. Poor quality rubber or incorrectly sized tyres can not only increase braking distances and reduce grip, but also change the balance of a vehicle whilst stopping – potentially increasing the likelihood of an uncontrollable skid. To this end, some manufacturers (for example Porsche™) have even gone as far as to work with tyre manufacturers to produce specific compounds to suit the characteristics of their cars (in this case the N-rated tyre), highlighting just how essential the use of real components is.There is also a financial and convenience cost associated with using counterfeit parts. “Buy cheap buy twice” is a common proverb in the automotive world where real parts are specifically refined to improve their lifetime and performance. Examples include spark plugs in petrol engines and headlight bulbs – a failure of either not only requires purchasing an additional part but a fault is most likely to occur whilst the vehicle is being driven, causing a delay and a potentially hazardous break-down for the user.Intellectual property rights play a key role in preventing counterfeit automotive parts from entering the UK market. Patents protect the underlying technical aspects of an invention, trademarks protect against posing items as being from another manufacturer or seller, whilst design rights protect the look and appearance of parts. If in force, these rights can allow manufacturers to prevent the importation and manufacture of counterfeit parts, thereby ensuring the parts do not pose a risk to road users.To that end, the IPO is keen to raise awareness of the risks associated with IP crime and infringement as part of the government’s Counter-Infringement Strategy (2022-2027). This strategy aims to make the UK an inhospitable environment for deliberate infringement, prevent people from choosing to infringe, and to enable law enforcement partners to effectively pursue and tackle IP crime and infringement.As a more immediate solution, parts that may be counterfeit can be reported locally to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute or anomalously to Crimestoppers.