Agenda IDS – “DUPES: Imitation or Innovation? Understanding Their Market Impact”

Agenda IDS – “DUPES: Imitation or Innovation? Understanding Their Market Impact”

The Dannemann Siemsen Institute (IDS) welcomes experts to speak on the growing influence of “dupes” in industries such as cosmetics, fashion, and consumer goods, as well as their impact on IP rights holders.

In the commercial context, the term “dupe” comes from the abbreviation “duplicate”, referring to a product that imitates another well-known – and usually more expensive – product in order to capitalize on its popularity, aesthetics, and design.

These products are particularly popular on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, where influencers promote cheaper options that promise to deliver the same “experience” as famous products.

However, it is debated whether this practice is always legitimate, or whether there are cases in which it would violate the intellectual property rights of third parties.

To discuss these and other topics related to “dupes”, Dannemann Siemsen partner Rafaela Borges Walter Carneiro will moderate a panel with two experts on the subject:

• Alastair Gray will talk about the cultural aspects of “dupes” and the impact of this movement on consumers, and the anti-counterfeiting aspects of the matter.
• David S. Lipkus will address the legal distinction between dupes and counterfeits, as well as the potential infringement problems created by “dupes”, among other topics.

 SPEAKER

Alastair Gray
Alastair Gray is the International Trademark Association’s Director of Anticounterfeiting and is the staff liaison for over 340 volunteers of the INTA’s Anticounterfeiting Committee which develops the Association’s policies, positions on combating trademark counterfeiting worldwide. Alastair is also currently assigned as an expert in the EUIPO’s Observatory Expert Group on “Cooperation with Intermediaries”, which studies, among other subjects, infringements in social media.

David S. Lipkus
David S. Lipkus is a lawyer and founder of Lipkus Law LLP. David has dedicated his practice to stopping infringers from using or reproducing his clients’ intellectual property without permission in Canada and online. David’s principal focus is on intellectual property brand protection for trademarks, copyrights, and industrial designs.

MODERATOR

Rafaela Borges Walter Carneiro
Lawyer and partner at Dannemann Siemsen. She holds a L.L.M. in Intellectual Property Law from Philipps Universität Marburg, Germany. She works at all levels of the trademark protection process and her expertise includes the strategic management of national and international portfolios, legal representation in the defense of intellectual property rights, and the negotiation and drafting of license, advertising and marketing agreements and contracts.

 OPENING REMARKS

Patricia Porto
Patricia is the academic coordinator at Dannemann Siemsen Institute.