News The 2013 Swiss Day Against Counterfeiting, held March 22nd, delivered on its promise to raise awareness of the damage caused by counterfeiting. This year's event put the emphasis on creative thinking, with a prize-giving ceremony for the winners of competitions to produce posters and short films about counterfeiting.
Anastasia Li, President of STOP PIRACY, had a message for the audience at the Swiss Day Against Counterfeiting, held March 22nd at the University of Art and Design in Lausanne: «I'd like to acknowledge and thank all those who don't buy counterfeit goods and have no intention of doing so». The event, held under the aegis of STOP PIRACY, the Swiss anti-counterfeiting and piracy platform, was organised by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry in collaboration with the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie. Represented by Interpharma, Swissmedic and SAFE, the pharmaceutical and audiovisual sectors, which alongside watchmaking are the industries most affected by counterfeiting, also took part in this national day whose purpose is to alert the public to the implications of buying fake goods. This year, members of the public and students at Swiss art and design colleges were invited to put their creativity to use, and imagine posters and short films on the theme of fakes.
Lausanne University of Art and Design and Geneva University of Art and Design, both prestigious Swiss colleges, rallied to the cause and encouraged their students to take part in the poster and short film competitions respectively. Students at the Geneva Film School also contributed entries to the short film competition. The general public took part in an online competition, also for films.
All the competitions lived up to expectations. Far from being a pure exercise in style, the winning entries will be shown in cinemas, on television and published in the press. The organisations involved in this Swiss Day Against Counterfeiting will also give these films and posters exposure on their websites, proving that they are indeed «all together against fakes».
The ramifications of counterfeiting can never be underestimated. Counterfeiting finances organised crime, destroys jobs and undermines innovation. Consumers who know the facts of counterfeiting won't fund this criminal activity, and young people must be in the frontline of this fight against fakes.
March 26, 2013
