The superhero in the fight against counterfeiting.
IP HERO is the superhero who fights counterfeiting, a champion who fights illicit markets and protects creativity. Through his adventures, you can learn how to protect yourself from the counterfeit market, but above all, how to help him fight counterfeits and become a hero yourself!
IP HERO x Anti-Counterfeit Gazebo
The Local Police’s “Anti-Counterfeiting Gazebo” is aimed at consumers to raise awareness of the dangers of using counterfeit products and the negative effects on the legal economy. Counterfeiting has a market value of €7.208 billion, displaces 104,000 jobs, and causes significant losses to the state budget in terms of lost tax revenues amounting to €5.935 billion.
Consumers are also at risk; if caught purchasing counterfeit goods, they can be fined between €300 and €7,000, with a reduced fine of €600.
IPHERO TIPS
Quick tips to protect your purchases and intellectual property.
IP HERO TIPS:
Always buy from authorized retailers, even for your online purchases. Be wary of beachfront sales or unsafe, unauthorized channels.
The product price must be realistic: if the offer is too good, it may not be a real deal.
Check that the packaging and wrapping are intact and correspond to the item you intend to purchase.
Check that the label includes all the required information for the sale. Furthermore, if there are grammatical errors or misspelled words on the product, label, or packaging, the product is definitely fake!
Look at the product and check its quality. If you find anything unusual, be wary of purchasing it. Stitching, fabric, buttons, and zippers must be of excellent quality and consistent with the brand.
If the product you are purchasing has anti-counterfeiting systems, check for yourself if the product is genuine!
When purchasing online, check the return terms or other text: if you find grammatical errors or misspelled words, the retailer is most likely not authorized!
FOR CONSUMERS
What is counterfeiting?
Counterfeiting is the act of falsifying, imitating, and misappropriating distinctive signs in order to produce and sell products with no intrinsic value and often made from non-compliant materials. Counterfeiting is a crime that affects not only the manufacturer or seller, but also the buyer.
What is intellectual property?
Intellectual property is comprised of two legal areas: industrial property and copyright.
Industrial property includes trademarks and other distinctive signs, geographical indications, designations of origin, designs and models, inventions, utility models, topographies of semiconductor products, confidential company information, and new plant varieties. Copyright protects works of creative genius, such as literary works, theatrical, cinematic, and television performances, photographs, paintings, architectural designs, etc.
PLEASE NOTE: The work must be new and original, i.e., the product of the author’s creative flair.
Do you think you’ve come across a counterfeit product, or do you want to learn more about how to protect your IP and fight the counterfeit market?
Fill out the form, attaching photos or screenshots of any products or otherwise call for help, through its social pages.