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Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, knockoffs were a $500 billion global criminal enterprise, predicted to double by 2022 with the exponential rise in e-commerce. 2020’s pandemic accelerated both phenomena: Within three months of onset in the U.S., online shopping spiked 32%, throwing open the door to fake fashion, electronics, medicines and more.

Now more than

Last year saw a marked uptick in unfair import investigations at the International Trade Commission (ITC), with an especially strong close to the year: eight new complaints in December alone brought the year’s total to 62 new complaints to the Commission, well above the ten-year average of 49. Complaints alleging trade secret misappropriation rose particularly,