The sale of counterfeit products is a growing threat to businesses’ intellectual property rights, and consumers’ trust and safety. In 2013 the economic value of counterfeit and pirated products was estimated to be $1.13 trillion. By the year 2022, it is projected to reach $2.81 trillion.
How can consumers educate themselves about trademarks and protect themselves from counterfeit goods? At the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum in Alexandria, Virginia, a new interactive exhibit will present the exhibit—”The Power of Trademarks,”sponsored by the International Trademark Association (INTA)—is designed to help visitors recognize authentic consumer products.
As part of the museum’s Intellectual Property Power wing, the exhibit opens Tuesday, Nov. 7 and will run through April 2019. Besides counterfeit education, the exhibit also highlights the value of trademarks and why they are important to consumers.
Companies such as American Express, Bose Corp., Crocs Inc., Michael Kors, NBA Properties Inc., Pfizer Inc. and The Procter & Gamble Co. contributed to the exhibit’s design and content. One of the exhibit highlights is an interactive display allowing museum visitors to examine authentic and counterfeit products. Visitors choose the product they think is real, and the display reveals the truth and offers tips for how they can tell the difference moving forward.
“The Power of Trademarks” exhibit is part of INTA’s broader anticounterfeiting initiative, which includes developing best practices for trademark owners and service providers to use in addressing counterfeits on the Internet; partnering in the Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy; and educating and engaging teenagers about the importance of trademarks and intellectual property, and the dangers of counterfeit products through its Unreal Campaign.
The National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum is located at the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Madison Building in Alexandria. For more information visit invent.org/honor/hall-of-fame-museum.
