The Report on Counterfeiting in Italy 2023 revealed that the fake market in Italy is worth approximately 15 billion euro, leading to the loss of more than 120,000 jobs. The import of counterfeit products, especially from China, fuels this phenomenon, which is made worse by globalization and international commerce.
To strengthen the value of Made in Italy and to face the challenges related to circular economy and sustainability, the MICS (“Made in Italy Circolare e Sostenibile“) project has been recently launched. This is a partnership among universities, research centres and enterprises, funded by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) thanks to funds made available by the European Union under the NextGenerationEU (PNRR) programme. The project involves 25 partners, including 12 public sector partners and 13 industrial partners from the following key sectors: Fashion, Furniture and Factory Automation.
The MICS project is built around several thematic areas, called “spokes“, each dedicated to a specific area of Made in Italy.
The research aims at supporting Italian companies with models and guidelines to protect Made-in-Italy reputation. The project will provide tools and resources to SMEs to protect their intellectual property rights, overcoming the economic and technological barriers which currently limit their protection. In detail, MICS aims at promoting sustainability, the use of innovative technologies for traceability and authentication of products, as well as raising awareness of companies on the best practices against counterfeiting.
MICS has recently launched its first roadshow, funded with €21.5 million, aimed at raising awareness and involving Italian enterprises on sustainability and anti-counterfeiting topics. The roadshow will reach several Italian cities and aims at disseminating the project and providing practical support to companies to adopt sustainable practices and anticounterfeiting strategies.
This event is a crucial step to further strengthening “Made-in-Italy” protection. The project initiatives include Spoke 7, developed by Sapienza University of Rome in collaboration with the Politecnico of Milano, the Politecnico of Bari and the University of Florence, which is particularly important because it focuses on governance and sustainability communication.
