New skills to face the risks of counterfeiting in consumer goods for children Erasmus Project

Project Title

New skills to face the risks of counterfeiting in consumer goods for children

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); Environment and climate change; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

The increasing production and distribution of dangerous counterfeits has been a recurrent topic raised by enforcement authorities, right holders and other private sector representatives, associations and federations.
Business manufactures involved in the production of goods that intendedly infringe intellectual property rights are not concerned about the quality, and what is more, the safety of their products. They could contain substances or components that do not meet European safety requirements and therefore show potentially dangerous risks for consumers health and safety.

The main two target groups identified are:
1. SMEs of these children’s product sectors. When we refer to consumer goods for children we are including toys, children’s clothing, footwear and other items for child use such as childcare items or car seats; and
2. Consumer organizations, as the key path to reach the individuals who buy the products; and
An important issue to be considered, supported on previous studies, seems still missing a deep awareness of the actual risks caused by counterfeits, as well as the criminal structure they produce and distribute.

The challenge of CounterRISK is to help companies solve the main problems derived from counterfeit in the sector of children’s products, especially focused on health and economic ones. CounterRISK aims at generating news and improving the current knowledge about counterfeiting and their associated side-effects, in sectors, companies and consumers, and even public administrations.
The strategic objective is achieving a noteworthy improvement of key competences among target groups, SMEs and consumer associations, in order to protect themselves from counterfeits through a better knowledge of IP and product safety, and how some new technologies implemented in products can be key for regulatory authorities and consumers to assure the authenticity of products.
The operational objective is to develop innovative training tools about topics involved in children’s products counterfeit, such as intellectual property, product safety and new technologies, to face the risk of fake and illegal children’s products. This specific training will be implemented by both companies (against economical / brand damage) and consumers (against any harm on children’s health).
Due to the nature of this particular industry, the wide scope of product distribution and also the interrelation among consumers, it’ easy to justify that only a trans-national project might be able to achieve these objectives, given the underlying fact that all the project topics must comply with EU regulations.

Achieving an impact derived of CounterRISK is configured as having helped the target groups defined to have solved their problems facing counterfeiting, and having improved their position in the global environment, whether in competitive, safety and / or health terms.
The results of the project will reinforce the competitive position of the ‘legal’ producers and distributors of children products, and penalize the ‘illegal’ producers and distributors, by highlighting the risks and disadvantages of fake products, both from the point of view of health and economic.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 251716 Eur

Project Coordinator

ASOCIACION DE INVESTIGACION DE LA INDUSTRIA DEL JUGUETE CONEXAS Y AFINES & Country: ES

Project Partners

• LUCENTIA LAB SL
• APSI, Associação para a Promoção da Segurança Infantil
• SDRUZENI PRO HRACKU A HRU
• UNIVERSITE DE STRASBOURG