We help consumers to fight the counterfeit market
For the consumers
What is counterfeiting?
COUNTERFEITING is the act of falsifying, imitating and usurping distinctive signs in order to manufacture and sell products with no intrinsic value and often with non-compliant materials.
Counterfeiting is an offence, which not only affects those who produce or sell, but also those who buy.
What is intellectual
property?
Intellectual property consists of two legal areas: industrial property and copyright.
Industrial property includes trademarks and other distinctive signs, geographical indications, denominations of origin, designs, inventions, utility models, topographies of semiconductor products, confidential business information and new plant varieties.
Copyright protects creative works, such as literary works, theatrical, cinematographic and television performances, photographs, paintings, architectural designs, etc.
WARNING: the work must be new and original, i.e. the result of the author’s creative flair.
But what should we do if we believe we are in front of a counterfeit product, online or offline, or if we want to know more about how to protect IP and fight the counterfeits business?
Fill in the form, attaching photos or screenshots of the products in question, or otherwise call to the rescue, via their social pages, the only defender in the fight against counterfeiting: IP HERO!
You can find them on Facebook and Instagram.
IP HERO tips
Always buy in places that are suitable for selling the product. Be wary of sales on the beach or through unsafe channels.
Always try to buy products from authorized retailers to make sure you do not get fake products, even for your online purchases.
The price of the product
should be realistic.
Be wary of cheap offers. As I usually say, “If the offer is too good, it is probably not an offer”.
Check that the packaging in which the product is sold is intact and corresponds to the item you are buying.
For example, if you are buying a pair of shoes, be wary of products that are sold without a box or in a box that does not comply with the brand’s packaging.
Product labels are
always very important.
Check that it is complete with all the information required for sale, such as the CE mark, or indications of the components and place of manufacture. Also, check for grammatical errors or misspelled words on the product, label or packaging. If you find any, the product is likely to be fake.
Look at the product
and check its quality.
If you find something unusual, be wary of its originality. Stitching, fabric, buttons and zips, but also the wrapping (cloth or plastic bags, if any), should be of excellent finish and in line with the type of brand.
If the product you are buying carries these systems, check for yourself whether the product is original!
Perhaps you do not know that some companies put anti-counterfeiting systems on their products and some of these allow you to check for yourself whether the product is original or not!
We spread
the culture
of buying
original.
Find out about INDICAM’s activities and collaborations with various national and international stakeholders.