The Association is a non- political, non-governmental and non-profit- making organisation and has the following aims: a. To create awareness of the importance of effective intellectual property protection to prevent counterfeiting of goods and services throughout the world. b. To disseminate knowledge and information about counterfeiting and ways of combating it in order to raise public awareness about tbe problem as well as to educate and inform. c. To facilitate the introduction of effective measures to tackle counterfeiting including the establishment of anti-counterfeiting groups throughout the world. In pursuing its aims, the Association will always seek to complement rather than replicate the existing services provided by its members.