More
than 500 participants from 66 countries attended the Second Global
Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy, which was co-hosted
by Interpol and the World Customs Organization (WCO) and supported
by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and a number
of international business organizations – the Global Business
Leaders Alliance Against Counterfeiting (GBLAAC), the International
Trademarks Association (INTA), the International Chamber of Commerce
(ICC), and the International Security Management Association (ISMA).
Although the
interim since the First Congress
showed that the figures for international trade in counterfeit
and pirated products had continued to rise alarmingly, the Congress
highlighted a number of positive developments. The success of
Interpol’s Operation Jupiter in Latin America, for example,
had provided a model for transnational enforcement operations.
A growing political commitment was evidenced by the G8 statement
on counterfeiting and piracy at the July 2005 Gleneagles meeting;
and by the support for the work of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) to produce a comprehensive
global study on counterfeiting and piracy. Public awareness of
the implications of buying fake or pirated goods was growing in
many countries where governments and business organizations were
running high profile campaigns. And a report released in 2005
by the music industry group IFPI showed sales of digital music
from legal sites to be surging, while illegal downloading figures
remained flat.
The Congress
had emerged as an important and valuable opportunity for national,
regional and global leaders from the public and private sectors
to raise awareness, enhance cooperation and identify strategies
to deal more effectively with the global problem of counterfeiting
and piracy, however the Congress was under no illusion as to how
much more must be done if the tide of counterfeiting and piracy
activities was to be turned. The Second Congress focused on the
four key areas identified in the preceding meetings. Within each
Focus Area, participants identified specific policy initiatives
and priority actions. These included the following:
- Cooperation.
Cooperation, communication and commitment must be increased
among international, regional and national agencies, in partnership
with the private sector. Positive national examples demonstrating
where increased resources have been effective should be showcased.
The WCO’s review of legal mechanisms for sharing information
between Customs Administrations should be exploited. A cross-industry
clearinghouse for companies to share successful strategies and
best practices should be established.
- Awareness.
A coordinated global program should be developed to?. build
greater awareness among policy-makers, opinion leaders and consumers
of the full economic and social consequences of counterfeiting
and piracy. Objectives should include encouraging business and
enforcement agencies to publicize seizures; publicizing links
with transnational organized crime; and encouraging the investment
of increased resources in combating counterfeiting.
- Capacity
building. Governments should be assisted – through
activities such as WIPO’s tailored workshops – in
formulating effective enforcement strategies and in training
more specialized judges and prosecutors. Case law databases
and reference works should be produced to facilitate access
to precedents for judges and lawyers involved in intellectual
property (IP) infringement cases, and exchange of information
among the judiciary and law enforcement officials should be
fostered. Cooperation should be intensified to extend the reach
and efficiency of IP enforcement training programs. A study
group should assess the growing problem of sales of counterfeit
and pirated products over the Internet.
- Legislation
and law enforcement. National government bodies should
ensure that effective enforcement provisions and penalties –
such as action against counterfeit shipments, serious jail terms
and seizure of counterfeiters’ assets and profits –
are introduced and carried through in order to deter counterfeiting
and piracy.
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Key
Presentations
Ronald
K. Noble, Secretary General, Interpol
Michel
Danet, Secretary General, World Customs Organization
Rita
Hayes, Deputy Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization
Anne
Gundelfinger, President, International Trademark Association
Neil
Withington, General Counsel, British American Tobacco on behalf
of GBLAAC
Guy
Sebban, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce (BASCAP)
Patrick
De Smedt, Chairman, Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa
Datuk
HJ. Mohd Shafie Bin HJ. Apdal, Minister of domestic trade and
consumer affairs, Malyasia
Christopher
James Shaw, Eli Lilly
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