What Did World Anti-Counterfeiting Day Actually Deliver?

Every year, in June, World Anti-Counterfeiting Day generates a flurry of statements, awareness campaigns and social media posts highlighting the dangers posed by counterfeit products. This year was no exception.

Industry associations, brand owners, enforcement agencies and solution providers used the occasion to highlight the estimated hundreds of billions of dollars lost annually to counterfeit trade, while emphasising the risks posed by fake medicines, food products, electronics and consumer goods. Much of the discussion focused on e-commerce, online marketplaces and the growing challenges of digital enforcement.

Yet beyond the awareness campaigns, relatively few concrete new initiatives emerged.

One notable exception was Kenya’s announcement that it would finally operationalise its long-delayed Anti-Counterfeit Security Device Regime, activating provisions that have existed in legislation since 2018 and introducing authentication marks for a range of high-risk products (see page 10). The announcement was made during the country’s World Anti-Counterfeiting Day commemorations on 18 June and arguably represented one of the most tangible policy developments associated with this year’s observance.