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
Canon genuine 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.
Canon ink cartridges, laser toners, copier toners, camera and camcorder batteries
A unique Canon hologram is included on the packaging of all genuine Canon ink cartridges1 , laser toners, copier toners, camera and camcorder batteries.
The hologram has a unique colour-changing feature which appears as an iridescent gold when viewed from the front but changes to a dark iridescent green when tilted horizontally. If the hologram is counterfeit, this colour change does not occur or the change is slight.
Things to look out for on counterfeit products
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
Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe, Middle East and Africa
Be vigilant when shopping online for Canon products. Make sure you’re using one of our official Canon stores. Learn how to recognise them here.
We comply with the relevant laws and regulations in the many countries where we operate. Find out more about our compliance and legal statements, positions and guidance here.
1 the European plastic type inkjet packaging or blister multipacks may not include the unique hologram.
