Heath, who is global anti-counterfeiting counsel for Unilever, said that counterfeiting is one of the biggest challenges facing trade mark owners, especially in a poor economic climate, and dubbed fake goods "probably one of the worst forms of unfair competition".
Although considerable efforts have been made to "push anti-counterfeiting much higher up the public policy agenda" in recent years, Heath said the momentum must now be maintained "in order to get the lasting and effective changes so desperately needed to the legislative and enforcement framework".
Heath also said that consumer awareness campaigns are crucial and that more needs to be done to educate buyers about the social and economic consequences of buying fakes.
"There's been a lot of focus on the supply side, but it will all come to nothing if we don't deal with the demand side," he said.
Asked whether consumer awareness campaigns emphasising health and safety hazards, as in the case of fake drugs, were effective, Heath said yes, but warned that "they can be a double-edged sword".
"You've got to be very careful in raising health and safety issues that you don't damage brand confidence," he said.
Heath, through his affiliation with INTA and the International Chamber of Commerce/ Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (ICC/ BASCAP) also has been active in analysing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which includes 35 negotiating countries and 8 observer countries.
The Agreement is designed to strengthen IP owners' rights by harmonising enforcement strategies and legal frameworks among contracting governments. However, many remain sceptical of the plan, as the text of the Agreement has yet to be made public.
"It's received a lot of negative speculation in the press, but it's a great initiative," said Heath. "I think we should stand behind it and support it."
ACTA will be analysed further in the March issue of Managing IP, available from March 1.
Other topics covered during Heath's interview included highlights of the upcoming INTA Annual Meeting, which will feature supermodel Elle Macpherson as the keynote speaker, and his four top goals for his term.
Listen to the full archived version of the interview, as well as other Managing IP interviews and web seminars, here.
