JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST COUNTERFEITING

Support the Unreal Campaign!

Laura Heery
Senior Coordinator, Communications International Trademark Association (INTA)

Launched in 2012, the Unreal Campaign is the International Trademark Association’s (INTA) consumer awareness initiative designed to educate students (ages 14-18) on the importance of trademarks and the dangers of counterfeit goods.

In 2016, with the help of 70 dedicated committee members, Unreal has hosted approximately 35 student engagement sessions, reached 2,500 students in the classroom, and launched the initiative in 15 new countries. Additionally, the Campaign exhibited at youth-oriented conferences such as the USPTO Trademark Expo and DECA events, reaching approximately 21,000 students in 2016.

The Campaign is seeking to reach more students online as well. This past World Anti-Counterfeiting Day (June 8th), Unreal launched new videos targeting teenagers in India, Latin America, Philippines, and the United States. These videos help to enhance our student engagement sessions and grow our online reach. We have also started working with social media influencers to extend this reach. This past November, the Campaign partnered with an Italian fashion blogger to spread the word about the dangers of counterfeit goods, using the official Campaign hash tag (#UnrealCampaign). Altogether, we have had approximately 120,000 views online to date.

We want to keep growing. In 2017, the Campaign hopes to expand the number of student engagement sessions and continue our global expansion, but we cannot reach our goals without the brand protection community’s support.

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?

Volunteer. Even if you are not a member of INTA or serving on the Unreal Campaign Committee, we want to work with you to host a student engagement session in your local schools. These sessions are typically one-hour assembly style presentations. We have all of the materials you will need and we support volunteers as much as possible throughout the process. Unreal is designed to be easy and fun to organize.

Suggestions. If you know of any youth-oriented or anti-counterfeiting-focused initiatives that may wish to partner with Unreal, please let us know. We’re always looking to partner with those interested in spreading the Unreal message.

Sponsor. The Campaign would not be possible without the help of our sponsors: Tilleke & Gibbins in 2016, and, for 2017 (so far), eBay, CSA Group, CompuMark, Google, Gucci, IP4Kids, New Era Cap Co. and Tilleke & Gibbins. Learn more about the sponsorship benefits today

Donate Goods. Examples of real versus counterfeit goods are greatly appreciated. We try to always bring examples with us for student engagement sessions. Students love this interactive portion of the presentation and it’s a great way to show them the physical differences between real and fakes. If you are interested in donating any examples, please contact INTA directly to ensure that the proper waivers are completed.

For more information on the Unreal Campaign or to become involved, please contact lheery@inta.org.

As an intellectual property paralegal for a large corporation that develops and markets several footwear brands, I was impressed by INTA’s Unreal campaign. Targeting teens for awareness toward the pervasive consequences of counterfeiting is such a valuable and ultimately rewarding effort. After contacting a local high school, a brand protection colleague and I were invited to present the program to a group of students. We found the materials provided by INTA to be excellent, smoothing the way for a worthwhile and successful effort. We were also able to include brand protection accounts and statistics from our own company and our personal working experiences. Students and teachers alike are at once surprised – even shocked – as well as enlightened and empowered by new insights. The hope is that these insights are not only takeaway knowledge and tools, but that they will be passed on to others as an even greater reward for the effort.

 – Janet Baker, Former Senior Intellectual Property Paralegal, Deckers Brands

THE BRAND PROTECTION PROFESSIONAL | MARCH 2017 | VOLUME 2 NUMBER 1
2017 COPYRIGHT MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES

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