Information technology majors like Hewlett-Packard, Canon and Intel have joined hands with the Manufacturers' Association of Information Technology to form the IT anti-counterfeit coalition (ISAAC) to curb hardware counterfeiting market in India.

The coalition would work with the industry and the government to combat counterfeiting of IT products from the grassroot level, thereby protecting consumer interest, HP said in a release on Saturday.

"Counterfeits are a growing area of concern for the industry and we believe this consortium will help give an additional push in the task of creating awareness," MAIT executive director Vinnie Mehta said.

As part of a short and long term strategy, ISAAC would conduct regular training workshops involving judicial and enforcement authorities to create awareness on counterfeiting, the release said.

The alliance would also help police to establish economic offence enforcement cells across states, it said, adding the consortium would lobby with the government for facilitating regulation/changes to assist anti-counterfeiting operation and change the existing legal framework.

Neel Pillai, HP business development manager, said the coalition members were "confident that the MAIT consortium would supplement the efforts made by HP in combating counterfeiting.