The Hellenic Industrial Property Organisation (OBI) and the municipality of Corfu held a kick-off event on 9 May 2023, in honour of Europe Day, to mark Corfu’s recent certification as the third Greek Authenticity under the European Network of Authenticities project.
Participants included representatives from the OBI, the EUIPO, local government, the intellectual property (IP) industry and the media. The institutions that participated in the event were all devoted to the defence of intellectual property rights and the struggle against counterfeiting.
The Authenticities project was created with the express purpose of empowering local government officials, residents and stakeholders. Its goal is to raise awareness and knowledge of IP among the general public and to strengthen the defence of these rights.
Following the positive examples of Thessaloniki and Mykonos, the city of Corfu will lead a number of activities to increase consumer awareness and deter them from buying counterfeit goods. In addition, steps will be taken to reduce the supply of fake items.
The cooperation project enables the national IP offices in the EU Member States to participate in the construction of a recognised European Network of Authenticities, with a current total of 12 Authenticities (10 of which have up-to-date certification). This platform encourages the exchange of best practices and helps members build new working relations.
Read more: Corfu becomes Greece’s third ‘Authenticity’