News Release
Pascal Lamy
No. 160/04
November 10, 2004
EU STRENGTHENS FIGHT AGAINST PIRACY AND COUNTERFEITING BEYOND
ITS BORDERS
In an effort to halt the increase in piracy and counterfeiting the European
Commission has today adopted a strategy for the enforcement of
intellectual property rights (IPR) in third countries. The action plan focuses
on vigorous and effective implementation and enforcement of existing IPR laws.
It proposes to identify priority countries where
enforcement actions should be concentrated. Stress will be put on technical
cooperation and assistance to help third countries fight counterfeiting, but the
Commission will not hesitate to trigger all bilateral and multilateral sanction
mechanisms against any country involved in systematic violations. The Commission
will foster awareness raising of users and consumers in third countries and support
the creation of public-private partnerships for enforcement.
EU Trade Commissioner
Pascal Lamy
said: “Piracy and counterfeiting continue to grow every year and have become
industries, increasingly run by criminal organizations. This is a serious problem
for us but also for third countries whose companies are also suffering the consequences
of violation of their own intellectual property rights.“ He added: “Some
of these fakes, like pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs, constitute an outright danger
to the public, while others undermine the survival of EU’s most innovative sectors,
confronted with the misappropriation of their creations. Adopting new legislation
on intellectual property is one thing. But devising the right tools to enforce
it is another. This is now our priority.”
This strategy sets the guidelines for the European Commission in the coming years
towards a reduction of the level of IPR violations taking place beyond the EU
borders, worldwide. It follows a logical sequence of recent
initiatives taken by the EU to tackle this problem within the EU and at its
border.
It is not the EU purpose to re-invent the wheel, but to show that we are committed
to work more and better in an area where putting in place legislation is not sufficient.
It is essential that third countries accompany the commitments agreed to in the
WTO and in bilateral agreements by a genuine willingness to tackle the problem
at their borders, in their courts and in their streets. From our part, we must
ensure that our right-holders
are effectively protected against the misappropriation of their property and our
citizens in general against the dangers of piracy and counterfeiting.
The Strategy in detail:
1. Identifying priority countries: EU action will focus on the most problematic
countries in terms of IPR violations. These countries will be identified according
to a
regular survey to be conducted by the Commission among all stakeholders.
2. Awareness raising: promote initiatives to raise public awareness about the
impact of counterfeiting (loss of foreign investment and technology transfer,
risks to health, link with organized crime, etc.) and make available to the public
and to the authorities of third countries concerned a “Guidebook on Enforcement
of Intellectual Property Rights.”
3. Political dialogue, incentives and technical co-operation: ensuring that technical
assistance provided to third countries focuses on IPR enforcement, especially
in priority countries; exchanging ideas and information with other key providers
of technical co-operation, like the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),
the US or Japan, with the aim of avoiding duplication of efforts and sharing of
best-practices.
4. IPR mechanisms in multilateral (including TRIPs),
bi-regional and bilateral agreements: raising enforcement concerns in the framework
of these agreements more systematically; consulting trading partners with the
aim of launching an initiative in the WTO TRIPs Council, sounding the alert on
the growing dimension of the problem, identifying the causes and proposing solutions
and strengthening IPR enforcement clauses in bilateral agreements.
5.
Dispute settlement - sanctions: recall the possibility that right-holders
have to make use of the
Trade Barriers Regulation or of
bilateral agreements, in cases of evidence of violations of TRIPs; in addition
to the WTO dispute settlement, recall the possibility to use dispute settlement
mechanisms included in bilateral agreements in case of non-compliance with the
required standards of IPR protection.
6. Creation of public-private partnerships: supporting/participating in local
IP networks established in relevant third countries; using mechanisms already
put in place by Commission services (IPR Help Desk and Innovation
Relay Centers) to exchange information with right-holders and associations;
build on the co-operation with companies and associations that are very active
in the fight against piracy/counterfeiting.
For more information:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/sectoral/intell_property/index_en.htm
http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/customs/customs_controls/
counterfeit_piracy/index_en.htm
Press Contacts: |
Anthony Gooch
202-862-9523
|
Maeve O'Beirne
202-862-9549
|
