IP NEWS:SOEI Patent & Law Firm

In December, 2006, the Japanese Patent Office conducted a campaign to combat counterfeiting and piracy. The Campaign used various advertising tools such as commercials on television and posters in cooperation with concerned government ministries and agencies. The main purpose of the campaign was to promote consumer awareness of counterfeiting and piracy issues.

This campaign focused especially on Japanese consumers because many of them are still unaware of counterfeiting issues. Counterfeiting and piracy issues are mainly blamed on those who purposely continue to import, manufacture and distribute counterfeit goods and pirate copies. However, according to public survey conducted by the Japanese Cabinet Office in August, 2006, 45.2% of the participants answered that unfortunately, most people cannot resist buying counterfeit goods. With almost 50% of consumers accepting the counterfeit goods, it is clear that low consumer awareness is a serious problem in combating counterfeiting and piracy.

The campaign included:
  (1) Television commercials
  (2) Posters
  (3) Advertisements on trains
  (4) Advertising pages in airplane magazines
  (5) A campaign website
  (6) An exhibition in the first floor of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

The campaign website will be open until March 30, 2007(URL:http://www.kawanai.com).