Product piracy is a growing problem businesses are encountering and in future they will have to face this problem more and more. The aim of this article is to counteract this shortfall. In order to cope with product piracy successfully, defensive measures have to be taken. Hence, we initially introduce potential protective measures of a legal, economic, political and technical nature. But although these measures may actually seem reasonable, they may not be appropriate in any situation or suited for any enterprise. The individual business situation and business environment requires an intensive exploration of measures since various options are feasible. That is why it is questionable to what extent safeguarding measures really make sense for a business. Therefore, the main part of this article addresses this very question by looking at the game theory, which serves as a possible aid in the decision-making process. Based on this, different ‘what-if’ scenarios are played through on polypoly and monopoly markets where the threat of product piracy is looming. The scenarios serve as case studies and would need to be adapted to the individual business and piracy situation. With the aid of the game theory, this article illustrates how a decision can be made to find a suitable defence strategy.

Product Piracy, Measures, Game Theory, Decision-Making Process, Defense Strategy, Small and Medium Sized Enterprise, Counterfeit