The Marcathlon celebrates its 4th edition claiming the benefits of brands and innovation for society

The Madrid City Council, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) and the Association for the Defense of Trademarks (ANDEMA) organize the Marcathlon for the fourth consecutive year. An awareness event that seeks to publicize the values behind brands and highlight the need to protect them in order to deal with counterfeits, distributed mainly through illegal street sales and the Internet.

On Saturday, October 7, starting at 10 a.m., this meeting, which has been held for four years and combines sport for adults and leisure for children, will take place in the Jardines de Azca in Madrid. Through different tests and formats, the initiative seeks to raise awareness of the positive impact that brands have, and convey to the public the importance of creativity and innovation, and their protection through industrial property rights.

It is necessary to increase the degree of awareness in society about the reality of brands and how these business assets generate 6 million jobs in Spain, contribute 70,000 million euros in taxes to the State, make investments in R&D worth of 4,100 million euros and carry out exports worth 125,000 million euros. Along with these benefits, brands offer guarantees of quality and safety for citizens. It is precisely the lack of knowledge of this reality that explains the acquisition of counterfeit products through illegal street sales and even the justification of their existence, without taking into account the destruction of wealth and jobs that the illegal sale of counterfeits causes. .

The Madrid City Council, through the General Directorate of Commerce and Entrepreneurship and in the exercise of its powers, actively fights against illegal street vending and counterfeiting, emphasizing the defense of brands and guarantees of quality and safety that they offer to citizens when they acquire original products.

For the general director of Andema, José Antonio Moreno "the Marcathlon is a very good opportunity to appeal to the responsibility of the citizen, who must know that by buying products with a brand behind them, they are ensuring that they are purchasing safe products that have passed quality controls. . But in addition, it helps small and medium-sized companies in its environment to continue generating wealth and jobs, and ensures that your rights as a consumer will be respected in the event that the product is defective”.

For her part, according to the general director of the SPTO, Patricia García-Escudero, “the Marcathlon has become a national benchmark that welcomes adults and children around the world of industrial property: trademarks, patents and designs. It is intended to promote respect for these rights, which are one of the most important engines for the social and economic well-being of our country. With this type of action we intend to create a culture based on innovation, knowledge and respect for the rights of third parties”.

Agenda Marcathlon 2017