Hiding behind aliases and multiple identities, special investigators infiltrate the criminal organizations that pirate famous brandnames, organize illegal factories and deliver fake products to the public, in an effort to protect intellectual property rights and stamp out unfair competition.

Pinkerton Consulting Services, a company founded in 1850 in the United States, was the first company of its kind to enter China in 1992.

It probed crime and business for the government and now has about 400 representative offices around the world. In Asian countries, Pinkerton has focused on protecting intellectual property.

"These countries have more problems with the violation of property rights, so there is a demand for our services," said Raymond Chiu, managing director of the company in the northern China area.

In Chiu's opinion, there are complex reasons behind the proliferation of fake and inferior products in Asia - the low consumption level of the country and less awareness of brandnames and intellectual property rights.

"We cannot stop the problem as long as there is demand," said Jenny Liu, vice president of Square Enigma (Shanghai) Inc, another Hong Kong-based investigative company, which mainly deals with household electrical appliances, lighting facilities and computer parts companies.

These two firms mainly deal with Fortune 500 companies, as few local and domestic businesses would think to employ such a company.

"Domestic companies are shortsighted; they are only concerned about current profits, rather than potential overseas markets," Liu said.

Clients ask the investigative companies to find either dealers or suppliers of fake products. Investigators then must go out into the field to hook up with vendors selling inferior products. They need to rely on intuition and experience.

"We employ those who have experience in our clients respective industries, and those with strong social skills," Chiu said.

Dealing with illegal or underground factories, poses special problems for investigators.

"Our staff must pose as buyers or raw material suppliers to discuss dealings with illicit factories, in the hopes of collecting evidence in the process," Chiu said.

Sometimes they have to co-operate with trading companies to get believable identity certificates. But Chiu was unwilling to expose channels used by his company.

Although Shanghai, as well as Beijing and Guangzhou, is a hub for the circulation of fake products, factories are usually located in smaller cities in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces, Liu said.

Investigators often must travel outside of Shanghai to those areas.

Those factories are often tightly protected by local governments because they contribute to the income of the area.

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