10 million online ads for counterfeit products taken down in the past 3 months

A customs officer stands amongst counterfeit objects seized by French customs. (File photo) © AFP/Anne-Christine Poujoulat

Nearly 10 million online ads for counterfeit products were removed by manufacturers between July and October, the French organisation Unifab announced on Wednesday following a survey of its members.

The Union of Manufacturers (Unifab), which brings together companies and professional federations involved in the fight against counterfeiting, counted exactly 9,892,493 ads withdrawn by a sample of 26 companies from various sectors (leather goods, ready-to-wear, pharmaceuticals, automotive equipment, etc.).

This brings the number of illegal ads removed in the last eleven months to over 27 million.

According to Unifab, the boom in e-commerce during the Covid-19 pandemic has led to an "intensification of the supply of fake products".

"To protect our fellow citizens, it is now very urgent to inform them and to work with the legislator so that it becomes aware of the economic, societal, environmental and security issues that the consumption of counterfeit products generates," said Christian Peugeot, president of Unifab.

The association is also launching an awareness-raising campaign for Black Friday, in partnership with the National Institute of Industrial Property, the National Anti-Counterfeiting Committee, the Customs and the Gendarmerie.

🚀 #Blackfriday - #Unifab lance 1 campagne de #sensibilisation online pour avertir des dangers de la #contrefacon & dévoile le nombre d’annonces #illicites retirées par ses membres sur 👨🏻‍💻 9,9 millions entre juillet et octobre soit près 27 millions en 2021 https://t.co/uz4qvCkdwv

— Union des Fabricants (@UNIFAB) November 17, 2021

It is providing consumers on its website with advice on how to avoid counterfeiting, as well as a quiz on the subject.

This campaign comes as a bill "aimed at modernising the fight against counterfeiting" tabled by members of the majority is due to be examined on Wednesday by the National Assembly's Law Commission.