The fight against fake products has found a home at Michigan State University with the launch of the Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection Program.

Michigan State's program is designed to fill what the school says a need for research on the worldwide phenomenon and "evidence-based strategies" to fight it.

The university says counterfeiting is more than an economic crime against businesses, with damage that extends to health, the environment and national security.

Director Jeremy Wilson one of its first projects was to create a database of U.S. product counterfeiting cases from 2000 on.

He says another project includes development of a DNA marker embedded in textiles that could be used to determine authenticity.