On the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day, the National Institute of Industrial Property (Inpi) and the Union of Manufacturers (Unifab) announced on Monday a clear increase in patent and trademark applications.
Withdrawals from online sales of counterfeit products have also been on the rise in recent months.
Inpi and Unifab unveiled "
very encouraging figures proving the mobilization of French companies
", in a joint press release.
Read also: How to differentiate an authentic sneaker from a counterfeit?
The INPI reported a "
very positive
"
first quarter
, with increases of 33% in trademark filings (33,400), 13% for registered designs (1638), and 2.2% for patent applications (3466).
On the side of Unifab, an association that brings together companies engaged in the fight against counterfeiting, it is indicated that the withdrawals of illicit online ads increased by 16% in February-March compared to December-January.
Some 6.3 million advertisements of counterfeit products have been removed from online shopping sites in the past two months (compared to 5.1 million the previous two months).
These withdrawals help protect consumers against all kinds of scams and preserve innovation and creation.
An encouraging sign
"
These figures are a very strong and very encouraging sign
," said the director general of Inpi, Pascal Faure, quoted in a press release. “
In an increasingly globalized context, more and more companies are becoming aware of the need to protect their innovations, their brands and their designs,
” he declared. "
Companies are redoubling their efforts and vigilance to dry up the offer of fake products already present on the web
", underlined for his part the president of Unifab, Christian Peugeot. "
Awareness-raising actions must be intensified and last over time,
" he added.