Japan conducts anti-counterfeit campaign

The Japanese government is running another advertising campaign to try to raise public awareness of the importance of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and the dangers associated with buying counterfeit goods.

The Japan Patent Office (JPO), in cooperation with the Intellectual Property Policy Headquarters, related ministries and private companies, is sponsoring ads on posters, newspapers, magazines and online to highlight the consequences of supporting fake product manufacturers.

"This year’s Anti-Counterfeiting Campaign will focus on the purchase of counterfeit products from online shopping sites via mobile phones, considering that the distribution of counterfeit/pirated products via the Internet is increasing," said Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in a statement.

"The campaign will warn consumers, who can easily buy counterfeit or pirated products, of their own risk of becoming a victim and thereby discourage them from buying counterfeit goods."