July 1, 2020
Upholding the slogan “Don’t Buy, Sell, or Allow Your Friends to Buy Counterfeit Products”
Upholding the campaign slogan titled “Don’t Buy, Sell, or Allow Your Friends to Buy Counterfeit Products,” the Japan Patent Office (JPO) will hold the FY2020 Anti-Counterfeiting Campaign, in the summer (July 1 will be the beginning of first half of the campaign) and the winter (December 1 will be the beginning of the second half thereof) of 2020, aiming to raise public awareness of the importance of not buying counterfeit products, in particular, among young people in their early 20s.
Background
Against the backdrop of the recent popularization of not only online shopping but also flea-market applications, social networking services (SNSs) and other electronic means of exchange, people in society are highly likely to become buyers and sellers of counterfeit products. The questionnaire survey conducted by the JPO* uncovered an issue that only 30-plus % of the respondents caution or discourage their friends from buying counterfeit products if they see them having bought or trying to buy such products, while the rest of the respondents (approximately 60%) do not.
To address this situation, the JPO will hold the FY2020 campaigns, aiming to explain to, in particular, young people in their early 20s, a correct understanding of the issues surrounding counterfeit products and the necessity and importance of cautioning and recommending that their friends not buy counterfeit products; and eradicate the trade of such products.
*Note: Report on Results of Measuring the Effects of Advertisement prepared under the FY2019 Project for Preparing and Placing Advertisement for Preventing Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights (released by the JPO in 2019); page 12.
Periods of the campaign
First half of the campaign: From July 1 (Wed.) to August 31 (Mon.), 2020
Second half of the campaign: From December 1 (Tue.), 2020, to January 31 (Sun.), 2021
Outline of the campaign slogan
The JPO adopted the slogan “Don’t Buy, Sell, or Allow Your Friends to Buy Counterfeit Products” aiming to prevent, in particular, young people in their early 20s from trading in counterfeit products; and to raise awareness among them of the importance of cautioning and discouraging their friends from buying such products.
The JPO hopes that the slogan will raise momentum for as many people to become aware of the importance of “not buying counterfeit products by themselves” as possible, in addition to “not allowing their friends to buy such products.”
Supporters
Intellectual Property Policy Headquarters; National Police Agency; Consumer Affairs Agency; Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications; Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Japan Customs of the Ministry of Finance; Agency for Cultural Affairs; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Japan Tourism Agency; and International Intellectual Property Protection Forum (IIPPF).
