Counterfeit Canon products are harder to spot - and probably more dangerous - than you may think. Counterfeit or “fake” Canon products may look almost identical to genuine Canon products but they are not. Canon products typically counterfeited include toner and ink cartridges, batteries and chargers, and camera accessories.

The making, importing or selling of a counterfeit product is a criminal activity. Canon works with Police, Customs, anti-counterfeit organisations and authorities across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to tackle the trade in counterfeit Canon products.

The following information will help you understand the dangers of using counterfeit Canon products, how to identify them and what to do if you think you have purchased one.

Safety
Counterfeit Canon products have not been manufactured and tested to the strict quality standards of genuine Canon products and may cause you or your product harm. For example, counterfeit batteries can generate excessive heat, leak or explode when used, and cause serious personal injury or irreparable damage to your product.

Quality
Counterfeit Canon ink and toner cartridges can leak, block a printer’s print head or lead to colour blurring and streaking. Counterfeit cartridges are also likely to offer significantly less print capacity than genuine products. The print capacity of counterfeit cartridges that Canon has tested range from 28% to 69% compared to genuine Canon cartridges.

Environmental
Genuine Canon products comply with international and European laws including the WEEE, RoHS Directive and REACH Regulation. Counterfeit products are unlikely to comply with these laws and therefore cause a greater risk to the environment.

A unique Canon hologram is included on the packaging of all genuine Canon ink cartridges¹, ink bottles, copier toners and batteries.

The hologram has a unique colour-changing feature which may appear on some as either an iridescent gold or an iridescent reddish-gold when viewed from the front and changes to a dark iridescent green when tilted horizontally. If the hologram is counterfeit, this colour change to a dark iridescent green typically does not occur.

- Counterfeit holograms are often displayed in an untidy way and appear damaged, blurred, in the incorrect colour or size.
- Canon logos on counterfeit packaging may be poorly reproduced, in the wrong colour, font or size.
- Packaging may look like it has been resealed, reused or tampered with.
- Packaging may have spelling errors or a lack of punctuation.
- Be cautious of sellers with unusually low prices.
- Be careful when purchasing online and from internet auction websites. Not all products purchased online are counterfeit but counterfeiters commonly use the internet to sell counterfeits for speed, anonymity and global reach, so please be vigilant when shopping online.

If you are in doubt about the authenticity of a Canon branded product you have purchased, please do not use it and instead contact a Canon authorised dealer or contact us at ipr.info@canon-europe.com. 
Unfortunately, we cannot replace counterfeit Canon branded products but we should be able to confirm whether a product is genuine or not, and provide written notification of the product’s authenticity. 
To ensure you are buying only genuine Canon products, please visit our Where to buy page for a non-exhaustive list of authorised retailers of Canon products.

Below is a list of useful links for more information on anti-counterfeiting:
Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) website.
React – The European Anti-Counterfeiting Network
Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy
Anti-Counterfeit Group
Intellectual Property Office
Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe, Middle East and Africa