The result of a close partnership between the Comité Colbert and French Customs, the new campaign is sponsored by the French national anti-counterfeiting committee (CNAC). It will use five visuals created by Cartier, Chanel, Dior, Lacoste and Louis Vuitton.

[click on a visual to enlarge it]

Two campaign objectives:

Remind the public what defending intellectual property really means: when we fight counterfeiting, we help protect the imagination, creativity and intelligence.

The Comité Colbert aims to boost awareness of the many precious assets inherent to the French industrial heritage and the personal duty of each citizen to defend it by adopting resolutely responsible behavior.

Inform the public about the risks associated with the purchase of counterfeit goods

The campaign stresses that possession of a fake is enough to warrant a fine of up to 300,000 euros and a prison sentence of up to 3 years. At the Bercy launch, French Customs officials demonstrated the harmfulness of certain types of glass used to make fake designer eyewear. They alerted consumers to the fact that:

- Counterfeit goods (e.g. fake alcoholic beverages, fragrances and cosmetics, glasses...) may be hazardous to their health;
- The use of counterfeit goods is a customs violation.

Destruction of 4.000 counterfeit sunglasses at the press conference of April 30th, 2009

French luxury brands are among those most often imitated by counterfeiters. Counterfeiting is an international phenomenon, an illicit activity perpetrated by highly organized networks that use the revenue to finance other criminal activities (trafficking in drugs and/or weapons, terrorism). It has become a real "industry" with its own production sites and large-scale distribution networks, especially those operating over the Internet.

Campaign partners include the urban furniture specialist JC Decaux, the Paris airport authority and Air France.

Find out more about counterfeiting