On 26th October, Lisbon will be certified as an Authenticity. This initiative is related to the inclusion of Lisbon in the European Network of Authenticities, within the scope of the project Authenticities launched by the @EUIPO, which brings together national and regional intellectual property offices in the EU, municipalities from all over Europe and local organisations, the purpose of which is to foster the fight against counterfeiting and piracy.
The inclusion of Lisbon in the European Network of Authenticities will make it possible to use tools locally available, as well as to forge a closer relationship between the City Council and the citizens of Lisbon, raising awareness as to the issue of counterfeiting.
The Authenticities project is of paramount importance, at a time when an estimated 83 billion euros in revenue or more is lost every year in key sectors of the EU economy, in addition to 670,000 jobs also lost. Figures also show that the costs of this scourge to governments in the whole of EU amount to around 15 billion euros in revenue every year.
It is also important to stress that counterfeiting and piracy can cause risks to the safety of consumers and also to the environment. Additionally, this is not a victimless crime, given that it supports other criminal activities, including money laundering, fraud, cybercrime, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
Any product may be subject to counterfeiting. Fake products include, among others, clothing, footwear, medicinal products and protective equipment, pesticides, foodstuffs, toys, etc.
The ceremony for launching this project to include the city of Lisbon in the European Network of Authenticities will take place on 26th October at the City Hall in Lisbon and will be attended by representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the City Council and the EUIPO.
