Counterfeit goods, or false versions of products, may cost the government of Kenya as much as $1 billion each year. The fake goods also hurt business owners who find it hard to keep customers. But information technology is being used to try to stop the problem. Jemima Mwafigu is a 34-year-old businesswoman who sells products like perfume. But in the first year of running her business, she found it hard to keep customers because of counterfeit goods. 

Ms. Mwafigu says her business has improved since she began using a smart phone application called Barcode Scanner. The app is used to authenticate products. It checks to make sure the products are not counterfeit. 

"With this application I'm able to scan the bar codes of each perfume and instantly I get the production date, the _ and I'm able to know the safety," she says. "That way, I have confidence in selling to my customers." 

In 2010, Kenya created the Anti-Counterfeit Agency, or ACA, to fight against illegal trade. The ACA has successfully asked government officials for stronger punishments for counterfeiters. 

Agnes Karingu is the agency's acting director for research and awareness. She says the ACA is trying to stay one step ahead of those making fake goods. 

"We are also looking into IT solutions where we can be able to use SMS programs, bar codes and information sharing," she says. "The end users of the products will actually be able to get the authentication information, and this information comes back to ACA and intellectual property rights holders." 

The agency is testing another program called Allvirtuous. The application is another way to find out if a product is real or not by scanning its barcode. The barcode information is sent to a database. Then a result is sent back to the app. 

The International Chamber of Commerce is a global business organization. It says the value of counterfeit goods produced around the world is expected to be more than $1.7 trillion this year. QUESTIONS:

Q1:
1. What is meant by the term counterfeit goods?
2. How can counterfeit goods be defined?
3. What does it mean if a product is counterfeit?
Q2:
1. Do counterfeit goods hurt business owners?
2. Are counterfeit goods harmful to those with businesses?
3. Does it hurt those who own businesses when goods are counterfeited?
Q3:
1. What has Kenya done to prevent counterfeiting goods?
2. What action has Kenya taken to combat counterfeited goods?
3. What is Kenya doing to stop goods from being counterfeited?
Q4:
1. What has the ACA done to prevent counterfeiting goods?
2. What action has the ACA taken to combat counterfeited goods?
3. What is the ACA doing to stop goods from being counterfeited?
Q5:
1. Has counterfeiting lost the Kenyan government a lot of money?
2. Has the Kenyan government lost a large chunk of change due to counterfeiting?
3. Have counterfeit goods cost the Kenyan government a large sum?
Q6:
1. How much per year does the Kenyan government lose due to counterfeiting?
2. How much money does counterfeiting cost the Kenyan government per year?
3. What is the amount of money lost be the Kenyan government each year due to counterfeiting?
Q7:
1. Can business owners use tools to prevent counterfeiting?
2. Are there tools that help business owners combat counterfeiting?
3. Can business owners prevent counterfeiting of goods with a tool?
Q8:
1. What application helps business owners combat counterfeit goods?
2. How can business owners fight against counterfeiting?
3. What tools allows a business owner to fight against counterfeiting?
Q9:
1. What does a Barcode scanner application show?
2. What is displayed by a barcode scanner application?
3. What can one learn by using a barcode scanner application?
Q10:
1. What is the name of the ACAS director?
2. Who is in charge of the ACAS?
3. What is the name of the person that heads the ACAS?
Q11:
1. What does the ACA try and accomplish besides combatting counterfeiting?
2. What is the ACA's job apart from stopping counterfeiters?
3. What else does the ACA do in addition to its counterfeit work?
Q12:
1. What is the role of the International Chamber of Commerce?
2. What does the International Chamber of Commerce do?
3. What purpose does the International Chamber of Commerce serve?
