On 17 October 2019, nine markets and shopping centres in Dudley borough joined forces in a pledge to stamp out fake and counterfeit goods being sold in the borough. Representatives from Dudley Market; Dudley and Halesowen Plaza Malls; Cornbow Centre, Halesowen; Brierley Hill Indoor Market; Crown Centre and Ryemarket, Stourbridge; Merry Hill Centre and Stourbridge Farmers Market have all signed up to the Real Deal Charter. By pledging, they are reaffirming their commitment that fake and other illicit goods are not welcome on their stalls or in their shops.

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Front row, Mike Walsh and Dolores Riordan from Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards sign the charter. Back row Councillors NinaJeffries, Jackie Hook (Devon County Councillor for Newton Abbot North) and Councillor Rufus Gilbert.

At the launch, Market Manager, Mike Walsh and trader Diane Smith talk about the benefits of the Real Deal Charter. Watch the video here – https://youtu.be/Fdqst1b0KW8

Newton Abbot Market is committed to fake-free trading and has signed the Real Deal National Markets Charter with Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards Service. By signing the charter, the market and its stallholders are reaffirming their commitment that fake and other illicit goods are not welcome.

The Teignbridge District Council-owned market includes both the indoor and outdoor town centre markets and the weekday food hall.

Currently there are more than 500 markets across the country that have signed the voluntary charter. The charter provides guidance, information and promotional support to trading standards and market operators to ensure that markets are free of counterfeit and other illegal goods

Trading standards has a statutory responsibility to protect consumers from the sale of illegal goods.

Counterfeit and illicit goods are often of inferior quality, and in most cases unsafe as they have not gone through the same rigorous safety checks that legitimate goods go through. Their sale can damage consumer confidence and legitimate businesses, because they infringe existing intellectual property rights.

Mike Walsh, Market Manager said: “It is important for our customers to know that they are purchasing good quality products that are safe and reasonably priced. When the opportunity arose to be part of the Real Deal Campaign we welcomed it, the sale of fake and illicit goods can have an adverse impact on business and reputation and it is important that customers can shop here with confidence.”

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Perth & Kinross Trading Standards works closely with market operators, Morris Leslie Group, to eradicate ‘fakes’ from Errol market through the Real Deal Campaign for Fake-Free Markets – Read more . . .

Thanks to a complaint from one of the trade stalls at the recent Black Isle Show and the quick response from the Black Isle Farmers Society, Highland Council Trading Standards were able to seize just over 100 counterfeit hoodies, polo shirts and t-shirts from a stall at the show.

Enforcement Officers from Trading Standards acted on the complaint and found the trader selling many different fake items using popular brands such as Fortnite, Armani, Adidas, Nike, Superdry, Polo and Boss. The investigation is on-going.

In 2015 the Black Isle Show signed up to the Real Deal markets’ charter, a nationwide initiative that encourages local authority Trading Standards and market operators to work closely together and share information so that local markets, car boot sales remain free from counterfeit goods and are a safe environment in which to shop and trade. The agreement was the first of its kind in the Highlands and the furthest North for the Real Deal Scheme.

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CAMPAIGN CHALKS UP 10 YEARS PROTECTING MARKET SHOPPERS AND BUSINESSES FROM THE THREAT OF FAKE GOODS

At the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) Annual Symposium in Brighton today, the National Markets Group for IP Protection celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Real Deal Campaign for Fake-Free Markets, making it one of the longest-running IP protection awareness campaigns in the UK.

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Carew Market and Pembrokeshire County Council’s Trading Standards have pledged to work together to ensure the market is a good, fake-free environment in which to trade and shop.

Both organisations have signed the Real Deal – a national charter for safe, fair markets.

Trading Standards Officer John Mallinson said: “Trading Standards has a statutory responsibility to protect consumers from the sale of fake and illegal goods which can pose a safety risk and be damaging to the business of honest traders.

“The Real Deal partnership with Carew Market will give a boost to consumer protection in Pembrokeshire.”

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Welsh Trading Standards, Police and NMG members seizing counterfeit goods destined for sellers on social media

A new, government-backed initiative has been developed to protect consumers and small businesses from the harm caused by the growing trade in fake goods on social media ‘buy-and-sell’ groups.

The Real Deal Online programme has been developed by the National Markets Group for IP Protection (NMG) in conjunction with the National Trading Standards eCrime Team (NTSeCT) to create greater awareness amongst administrators of local social media groups of their legal responsibility to prevent the promotion and sale of counterfeit goods and other illicit products within their groups.

The programme, which will be rolled out at a local level by Trading Standards Services, establishes a process for trading standards officers to contact administrators of social media buy-and-sell groups and help them run a fake-free group. Administrators are invited to follow the Real Deal Online Code of Practice.

Intellectual Property Minister Sam Gyimah welcomed the initiative, saying:

“The UK is rich with talented creators and innovators, and we must protect their intellectual property rights both online and offline. Social media can be a force for good making it easier for users to buy and sell goods, however with this can come an increase of counterfeit goods and other illegal products.”

 “This is why I welcome this initiative, that brings together industry, Trading Standards and local government to help protect legitimate businesses and allow rightsholders to reap the benefits of their own creations.”

The Real Deal Online Code of Practice requires group administrators to welcome local trading standards officers as members of the group and to agree to five simple steps:

1. to prohibit the sale of counterfeit and other illicit goods;
2. to act on information from intellectual property rights owners and their representatives who highlight the sale of illegal goods;
3. to notify trading standards if they believe that illegal goods are being sold within the group and to exclude the sellers of these goods;
4. to highlight warnings and advice notices posted by trading standards;
5. to make sure that all members of the group are aware of its fake-free policy.

Groups that agree to follow the Real Deal Online Code of Practice, will be allowed to display the Real Deal logo which will act as a visual assurance to shoppers and to traders that it is a fake-free shopping zone.  Continue reading →

Wednesday 4 July saw the third annual British IP Day – a celebration of the huge contribution that intellectual property makes to the UK, culturally and economically.

To mark the day, the latest Online Copyright Infringement (OCI) tracker was launched by the IPO.

The Alliance for IP coordinated a series of events, ​which saw creators and IP-rich business owners from across diverse industries descend on Parliament. There, designers, authors, brand owners, artists, publishers, photographers and others heard from IP minister Sam Gyimah MP before meeting their local MPs to tell the story of how crucial intellectual property is to their work and success.

In the evening at the Alliance for IP’s Summer Reception, leading stakeholders from industry, consumer groups and law enforcement gathered on the Terrace Pavilion in the House of Commons, along with parliamentarians from across the political spectrum. Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Rebecca Long Bailey MP,  spoke passionately about the importance of protecting IP as an essential element of the innovation and creativity that is such a key part of the British economy. 

Through the Real Deal programme, hundreds of markets are now working with their local trading standards services to ensure that IP is respected and protected across markets and car boot fairs across the country. And the Real Deal partnership model is now also being extended to the online and social media space. By facilitating safe, fair, fake-free marketplaces, the Real Deal and its many supporting organisations are delighted to play a part in British IP Day, and every day, helping to spread the Alliance’s message of ‘innovation and growth through IP’.

A long-standing Sunday market in Bristol is heralding a new dawn by making a commitment to fake-free trading by signing the Real Deal Charter with Bristol City Council’s Trading Standards service. Privately-owned company, Cotswold Markets, which operates at the wholesale fruit market venue in the St Philip’s Marsh area of the city, has recently introduced a strict ‘no counterfeits’ policy and is committed to changing the face of the market and upgrading the retail offering by attracting new traders selling good quality, genuine bargains.

The market is following in the footsteps of Bristol City Council’s St Nicholas Markets which signed the Real Deal Code of Practice in 2016. Together, they are part of a movement of over 500 markets across the country that have signed the voluntary Real Deal Charter with their local trading standards services to say ‘no’ to fakes.

Dave Joynes of privately-owned company Cotswold Markets, has been involved in the operation of the popular Sunday market at the wholesale fruit market venue in the St Phillip’s Marsh area of the city since its establishment 37 years ago. He said: “We are delighted to sign up to the Real Deal and we would like to thank Graham Mogg, the brands expert, for all his help and advice to get us on-board. Visitors to our market can shop knowing that what they spend their hard-earned cash on is legitimate, safe and value for money.

Traders at the Sunday market also support the new direction: Andy Pattison, Managing Director of A P Meats said: “We are pleased that Cotswold Markets are signing up to the Real Deal, it means shoppers can shop with confidence knowing every measure has been taken to ensure what the customer buys is genuine.”

Ijaz Chohan of I Go Sports said: “We are delighted that Cotswold Markets are signing up to the Real Deal. For ourselves, selling genuine sportswear since the Market opened in 1981, it protects our income and stops poor quality imitations coming on to the market.”

Welcoming the Sunday retail market into the Real Deal scheme, Cllr Kye Dudd, Cabinet member at Bristol City Council with responsibility for regulatory services, said: “We are pleased to support the commitment shown by the Market Operator to provide a safe and fair market in Bristol. It sends a clear message that traders selling counterfeit or illegal goods will not be tolerated. We will continue to support the market to thrive as a unique, interesting and safe shopping place for local people and visitors to Bristol.

“We are totally committed to actively encouraging quality products to be sold in Bristol. The sale of fake and illicit goods not only has a detrimental effect on the reputation of both the market and legitimate traders, they can impact on the reputation of the brands they sell and their customers by supplying both unsafe and incorrectly described goods.”

Graham Mogg, Chair of the National Markets Group for IP Protection, said: “The sale of counterfeit goods at Bristol Sunday Retail Market has had an adverse impact on consumers and legitimate businesses over many years. This milestone signing of the Real Deal charter is the result of some fantastic collaborative work over the last 12 months and I congratulate all concerned.”

Patricia Lennon, Real Deal Campaign Manager, said: “By signing the Real Deal Charter, markets can display the Real Deal logo, giving an assurance to shoppers and to market traders that they are in a fake-free zone. At the same time, it sends a clear signal to any would-be traders in counterfeit goods that they are not welcome.

“We would like to thank Cotswold Markets, the council’s market team, and the city’s trading standards service for working together over a sustained period to implement the Real Deal. It demonstrates that no matter how large or diverse a market’s offering, the Real Deal’s fake-free status can be achieved through partnership working between the market operator, trademark and copyright owners and trading standards.”

Editor’s Notes

About the Real Deal
The ‘Real Deal’ campaign is an initiative of the National Markets Group for IP Protection. It is a cross-sector, partnership initiative, bringing together local authority trading standards services, market operators and traders, industry groups, and copyright and trademark owners, all of whom are united with a common commitment to tackling illicit trading at markets.
Since its launch in 2009, more than 500 markets across the UK have made a commitment to fake-free trading by signing the voluntary Real Deal Charter with their local trading standards. The Real Deal initiative is supported by a wide range of UK public and private sector organisations and is funded by industry groups and IP rights owners who are members of the National Markets Group for IP Protection. More information on the Real Deal campaign and a list of its partners, and the UK markets and councils that have signed up to its fake-free ethos, can be found at:
www.realdealmarkets.co.uk

About Cotswold Markets
www.cotswoldmarkets.com

Cabinet Members Cllr Steve Nelson and Cllr Nigel Cook with market traders signing the ‘Real Deal’ charter.
Dave Charnley Photography

Stockton market traders have signed up to a national charter to keep stalls free of fake goods.

Every single trader at the 700-year-old market has signed the ‘Real Deal’ pledge, which gives shoppers an assurance that they can buy with confidence.

And joining them in signing up were Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Cabinet Members, Councillors Steve Nelson and Nigel Cooke.

Councillor Nelson, Cabinet Member for Access, Communities and Community Safety, said: “We’re delighted to see all of the traders supporting the ‘Real Deal’ charter, which gives shoppers peace of mind and sends out a clear message that the sale of fake goods will not be tolerated.

“The Council has also signed the pledge, which will see Trading Standards officers working closely with traders to help the market stay fake free.”

Councillor Cooke, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing, added: “Stockton is a proud market town and our regular market is a popular year round feature at the heart of our award-winning High Street.

“The Real Deal logo will be on display throughout the market, and can only enhance its reputation while encouraging people to spend with local traders.”