General Idea
StopTheFakes wants to do exactly what the project’s name indicates – stop the fakes. They have noticed an enormous problem, as counterfeit market has exceeded over $461 billion and it doesn’t seem to slow down in the near future. As the losses of many companies are very significant and infringements of intellectual property rights and computer piracy cannot really be estimated, StopTheFakes have come up with an interesting idea, where platform users detect violators of intellectual property rights, producers and distributors of counterfeit goods and pirates anywhere in the world.
Doers and checking
The platform and its possible successful counterfeit filter will work thanks to the doers, which will be users from all over the world able to check and validate the products and services. The Doer will view all the Requests submitted to the service and will be able to filter them by geographical location, time or language. He then becomes a person who is constantly searching for information about Requestor products. In case of any possible violation of copyrights or counterfeit attempts, he can then alert the company. The users will be rewarded with tokens for their work.
Rating System
In order to provide the highest quality service and reliable counterfeit protection, the Doers efficiency will be rated. StopTheFakes noticed that their main challenge would be to deal with low-quality or irrelevant data provided by Doers and data processing is a costly and arduous process. Moreover, it can motivate Doers to work better, as the more points a user has, the higher his position and earnings would be.
Requesting protection
Any person, brand or entity interested in tracking counterfeit products can become a Requestor on the platform. The Requestor submits a Request, verifies the alerts he gets from people monitoring his products and bases his decision and moves on them. After detecting a copyright infringement or counterfeit products, he can then deal with them privately by contacting the offender or law enforcement agencies.
Ultimately, StopTheFakes wants to develop a system, where the platform would be able to reach out to the offender and solve the problem. The system files the Complaint in a specific order, taking into consideration the jurisdiction of the country, in which the infringement has been committed. The Complaint is sent to the offender, website hosting services, search engines and domain registrator. That way a malicious site could be taken down very quickly to stop further infringements. Such approach is in full compliance with the clauses of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCAA) supported by most Internet services, domain name registrars, search systems and hosting providers.
Prevention of copyright infringement
Apart from creating a useful tool for companies to fight such problems, the platform itself can improve a whole situation and decrease the number of copyright infringements cases simply by acting as a warning sign for potential violators. They will be able to go to the platform and see that it is taking down many sites and successfully dealing with other offenders, therefore it is too risky for them to even try this illegal activity. They will learn that many brands are actively fighting for their rights and get the upper hand.
Mobile App
A mobile app will be a useful tool for detecting and fighting counterfeit of real goods and products, as this is a device that everyone has always in their pockets. That way, in case of coming across a suspicious item or shop, they will be able to take photos or make a video and get geological location of the place.
Browser Extension
They work on developing a web browser extension, which would make it more efficient for the Doers to monitor various site and then easily collect information about suspicious activities. They could capture screenshots of the whole screen or part of it with date and time and then configure the alert for the company.
The Token
STF is Ethereum token in an ERC-20 standard, which means it can be stored alongside many other ICO tokens in Ethereum wallet of your choice. It is used for payments within the platform, especially by Requestors to reward Doers for their work and collected information.
ICO Phase
They have already successfully finished pre-ICO phase. The main token sale starts at the 21st of March, 2018 and will last a month. The initial exchange rate is set at 1 ETH = 2400 STF. There are token bonuses for the early buyers.
The Team
The team is wide and consists of experienced people with many set of skills. They provide their contact information and LinkedIn profiles to verify their information and show previous experience. There are developers responsible for dealing with the blockchain technology, as well as developing the mobile app and browser extensions. It’s worth noting that a demo version of the platform is already available for everyone to check. Marketing team will maintain good contact with the community and make sure the project reaches out to most people, which is an important part in raising funds through crowdsale.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to overall appearance and design of the platform it looks very good and professional. They have their idea and goals set and it seems that with counterfeit market being so much developed, a platform of its kind can become very useful and demanded by many companies, as well as individuals. StopTheFakes may greatly reduce losses for many brands, while people who will be gathering the information and protecting the items will be able to earn some money.
