Brussels, 11/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - One year on from their declaration in St Petersburg on the fight against piracy and counterfeiting (see EUROPE 9236), the heads of state and government of the seven most industrialised countries of the world plus Russia last week summed up the measures under way, and set guidelines for work to be continued, in this field at international level. Amongst other things, they discussed “the establishment of a working group on intellectual property rights (IPR) focusing on the fight against piracy and counterfeiting”, a proposal which will be assessed during the course of the Heiligendamm process, where the G8 meeting was held. They favourably welcomed the specific declaration made by representatives of the business world and the launch of information campaigns designed to increase awareness among consumers. The guidelines adopted by the G8 concern the reinforcement of customs cooperation and technical assistance to the developing countries. Lastly, the G8 has committed to reinforce further its cooperation with competent international organisations, such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the World Customs Organisation (WCO), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Council of Europe.
Michel Danet, secretary general of the WCO, has issued a press release in which he welcomes the political commitment taken by the G8 leaders. Pointing out that it carries out 80% of interceptions of counterfeit or pirated goods on the borders, the WCO indicated that it will make a raft of standards available to its 171 members, together with an action plan aiming to reduce illegal trade in pirated or counterfeit goods. It is to hold the fourth world Congress on the fight against counterfeiting and piracy in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) in February 2008. The world anti-counterfeiting day will take place on 26 June 2007.
On the eve of the G8, the Organisation for European Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a report on the economic impact of this plague. This report states that the cross-border trade in pirated and counterfeit products was worth 200 billion dollars in 2005. Several hundred billion more could be added to this if goods produced and consumed within a single country, plus Internet distribution, were also taken into account. The OECD recommends increasing levels of observation for existing legislation, reinforcing criminal penalties and toughening sanctions, educating consumers and improving the collection of reliable and up-to-date data.
According to the annual Customs statistics of the Commission, more than 250 million counterfeit articles were seized in 2006 (see EUROPE 9436). All sectors of activity were affected. The principal countries of origin for counterfeit goods are China (80% of all goods seized) and India. (mb)