I work on a fairly high-end solution to this problem: works for art authentication, real estate transactions, that sort of thing. The only way this gets fixed

I work on a fairly high-end solution to this problem: works for art authentication, real estate transactions, that sort of thing. The only way this gets fixed is through liability: if they ship you a mass-produced thing, you get your money back. But if buyers are happy with the goods (and they seem to be, generally speaking) it's hard to say anybody's been defrauded -- making window shopping boring because most of the stuff is mass produced crap is not a crime, as it were. No harm, no foul. As for the "illicit" products, same applies: if the buyers don't care, it's hard to make the "system" care.