Santa isn’t the only one that needs to check it twice this holiday season.  With counterfeit goods on the rise, Canadians are finding it harder to tell the real products from the fake.

To help shed light on this issue, Microsoft Canada invited media out last week to hear a panel of experts at this year’s 15th Annual Anti-Counterfeiting Conference. Lorne Lipkus, Kestenberg Siegal Lipkus LLP and Co-Chair of the Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network lead the discussion, where speakers from the RCMP, Microsoft Canada, Canada Goose, the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition and the Canadian Intellectual Property Council discussed:

• Canadians’ views on holiday shopping, online deals and counterfeit goods
• The new risks that Internet counterfeiting poses to Canadian consumers and businesses and the difficulties in investigating and stopping counterfeiters online
• The growth and magnitude of counterfeit goods available online
• Tips on what consumers can do to protect themselves online
• New survey results revealing online shopping habits leading up to the holidays

They also had the rare chance to observe a wide range of counterfeit products taken directly from the shelves of GTA retailers over the last few weeks.

Overall, the event was a great success with stories airing on CTV News, CHCH News, CTV Webmania, and an early morning segment on Canada AM where Lorne showcased a variety of counterfeit goods including Microsoft software and Canada Goose apparel. Hopefully consumers are now prepared to shop with confidence this holiday season, whether in busy malls or when browsing for gifts online.