Brussels, 01/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is eager to step up the fight against counterfeiting. In a 10-step action plan, the EU is putting forward a toolbox to ensure greater respect for intellectual property rights (IPR) in the EU. An international level strategy is also part of the package, which will be implemented this year and next.
Protecting the economy. In a communication published on Tuesday 1 July, the Commission points out that widescale trafficking based on infringements to intellectual property rights (IPR) is a moving target and often linked to organised crime. It is a threat to the knowledge-based industries that are important to the European economy (almost 40% of GDP and 35% of European jobs). In an effort to better protect companies, content creators and consumers, the Commission is proposing measures to prevent and detect illegal activities (around 10% of European companies are affected) but without introducing legislation.
According to Commissioner for the Internal Market Michel Barnier: “Rather than penalising the individual for infringing intellectual property rights, often unknowingly, the actions set out here pave the way towards a 'follow the money' approach, with the aim of depriving commercial-scale infringers of their revenue flows”.
Action plan for Europe. Initially, action will be along the whole value chain. The Commission will seek to obtain an agreement between the different stakeholders (online advertising agencies and payment services, carriers) to remove counterfeiting from internet trade. The aim is to deny those contravening IPR their sources of revenue. Dialogue between stakeholders will be set up in 2014 and 2015 to this end. This will also involve raising awareness among consumers about the dangers of counterfeiting for both safety (e.g. equipment in cars) and health (medicines). The Commission is hoping to assess the lie of the land to extend reimbursement systems relating to certain credit cards when accidentally purchasing counterfeit goods. A Green Paper will set out concrete measures to be carried out to this end and to help provide funding to SMEs so that they can protect themselves against IPR infringements (on the basis of best practice in member states). To step up cooperation between the national authorities, an expert group will be set up as well. The Commission will support the consolidation of training of national authorities in tackling IPR offences. It will publish a report every two years on the impact of intellectual property infringement is to the economy, in an effort to monitor implementation of this action plan.
Strategy with third countries. The proposed strategy also includes an external dimension through which the Commission is proposing the continuation of multilateral efforts to improve the international framework for IPR and to ensure that the chapters on IPR in bilateral trade agreements guarantee appropriate protection for rights holders. It also seeks to collaborate with non-EU trade partners by way of dialogue and working groups on intellectual property issues. The strategy also provides for regular investigations to draw up a list of priority countries on which the EU should focus its attention. There has also been a suggestion to help SMEs and rights holders on the ground to develop IPR assistance offices and bolster IPR expertise in EU and member state representations in third countries. The Commission is also suggesting that third countries are offered technical assistance programmes in the field of intellectual property rights. (MD/EH)