The European Union, through the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office), has unveiled its plan to combat the counterfeiting of material goods. The blockchain plays a central role here.
The Vuitton handbag, the Air Jordan or even the Apple AirPods are victims of counterfeiting. According to economists, in 2019 the sale and purchase of “copies” represented a shortfall of 121 billion euros for European companies. Well aware of this problem, which is only getting worse with time, the European Union has presented an action plan which puts blockchain and NFT (non-fungible token) technologies to work.
This project is the result of numerous hackathons organized by the EUIPO intended to define the best technological response to this scourge that is not only economic, but also societal. After more than five studies therefore, the EU proposes systematize the tracking across borders of material goods using the blockchain. The European Union Intellectual Property Office has already defined the software architecture necessary for the development and implementation of the Anti-Counterfeiting Blockathon Infrastructure.
NFTs to the rescue in the fight against counterfeiting
The owners of the intellectual property (in other words, the marks approved and recognized by the EUIPO) will create digital twins (twin NFTs) of their products as soon as they leave the production line. These certificates will be their authenticity guarantee and will allow all companies to follow the path of their goods.
If the Blockathon is defined in broad outline, the bulk of the work, its implementation, still remains to be done. By 2023, the EU intends to create a register of companies and owners of intellectual property authorized to create NFTs, actors in the supply chain and sellers. If the system is to be effective, it will also need to interface with the supply chain tracking systems already in place.
If and only if these conditions are met, then the European Union will be equipped with a truly effective weapon in the fight against counterfeiting. Due to its size, this project is one of the most ambitious implementations of NFTs. Its success is due to the massive adoption of blockchain by all stakeholders, and their goodwill. In trade and logistics, the strength of the chain is defined by its weakest link.