Nathalie FAYETTE

During this festive season of sales and promotions, many products are offered on the market at slashed prices. But behind the sparkling packaging lies a growing phenomenon that is pushing brands to be increasingly vigilant: “dupes.” These products, inspired by or copied from best-sellers—affordable and trendy—are winning over more and more consumers. What Is a “Dupe”? The word dupe comes from the English duplicate. It refers to a product inspired by or copied from another that is fashionable and trending on social media, but sold at a lower price. In essence, a dupe allows consumers to obtain a supposedly equivalent product […]

Over the past decade, environmental ethics, ecology, and corporate responsibility have profoundly transformed consumer expectations and brand communication strategies. Today, they are key marketing arguments—but only when supported by genuine commitments. Otherwise, brands expose themselves to the risk of greenwashing, also known as ecological whitewashing. Greenwashing refers to communication practices that imply—directly or indirectly—that a product or service possesses environmental qualities that are unfounded, misleading, or unverifiable. In some cases, it also consists in diverting the consumer’s attention from the product’s actual environmental impact, which is often far less green than advertised. Examples: • The green packaging of AJAX “Fête […]

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) burst onto the digital scene with the promise of revolutionising the way creative works are owned and exchanged. But several years after the initial excitement, what remains from a legal standpoint? An NFT is a certificate of authenticity recorded on a blockchain, ensuring the traceability of a digital file. However, it does not confer any intellectual property rights over the content it represents. Purchasing an NFT therefore does not necessarily grant the right to use or reproduce the associated work: only the copyright holder retains exclusive rights. This distinction has given rise to numerous disputes, particularly in […]

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) have published the 2024 report on the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) by European customs authorities, both at the EU’s external borders and within the internal market. The full report is available on the EUIPO website as an interactive infographic, which you can explore [here]. 🔹 Impressive figures In 2024, 112 million counterfeit goods were seized, with an estimated value exceeding €3.8 billion. Three quarters of these seized goods mainly concerned the following categories: CDs/DVDs (including software), toys, clothing and fashion accessories, […]