operations against counterfeiting and piracy
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The WAITO Foundation’s 2011 report provides an international reference in the fight against organized crime and dangerous counterfeiting (Counterfeiting-crime©) prejudicing the stability of States and the security of their populations, and industrial sectors, whose responsibility it is to guarantee the protection of consumers. For more information visit - http://waitofoundation.orgTRANSCRIPT
Copyright-‐ This confidential report is the Intellectual property of the WAITO Foundation all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or diffused under any form or by any means, including photocopies and recordings, or by any information storage or recovery system.
Foreword (by Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the World Customs Organization)
The volume of illegally trafficked goods, irresolute criminal legislations, the lack of consumer information, and technological development all contribute to the escalation of counterfeiting and piracy. One only needs to look at the results of two major international operations, Operations TIGRE and FRED 60, carried out in April and May 2011 by the World Customs Organization. Operation TIGRE, from 11 to 15 April 2011, involved 9 countries and 13 ports in the Central America and Caribbean region. In 5 days, more than 3.5 million counterfeit products were intercepted, including 19 tonnes of insecticides, 151,020 bottles of body products and creams, 176,000 medicines, 648,000 spare mobile phone parts and 2 machines used to manufacture counterfeit cigarettes. It would appear that organized crime is becoming more diverse and, in particular, targets products with an effect on consumer health and safety. Operation Fred 60, carried out from 9 to 13 May 2011 in West and Central Africa, brought together 20 countries and 21 ports. In 5 days, 125 containers were intercepted containing some 43 million counterfeit products: more than 8 million medicines, hundreds of thousands of spare vehicle parts, thousands of toothpaste tubes, alcoholic drinks, food products, etc. The results of these two operations alone, confirm this as being a major pandemic phenomenon. The only way of overcoming it is to act together and on a global scale. The WCO has put forward a concrete action plan focusing on two main areas. The first is to strengthen the capacities of customs authorities, through a committed policy on education on legal and practical aspects in developing and least developed countries, which are prime targets for counterfeiters, by promoting risk analysis techniques. To this end, between 2010 and 2011, the Japanese government financed training in some 140 countries. The second focus is on communication between stakeholders, in particular customs authorities, the private sector and non-‐governmental organizations. A taskforce on counterfeiting and piracy (CAP) made up of customs representatives, has been set up by the WCO to enable customs authorities to exchange opinions, experiences, good practices and initiatives. Participants also include the members of the Rights Holders Consultative Group, a think tank attached to the WCO Secretariat, which works collecting the opinions of stakeholders, to assist in taking informed decision. This is not an institutional body of the WCO in the same capacity as the technical committees, but a WCO Secretariat debate and advice mechanism. The purpose of the Rights Holders Consultative Group is to provide the WCO with the direction it needs to effectively address the practical needs of
Copyright-‐ This confidential report is the Intellectual property of the WAITO Foundation all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or diffused under any form or by any means, including photocopies and recordings, or by any information storage or recovery system.
rights holders to fight against counterfeiting and piracy, and to offer a forum for exchange on cooperation between rights holders and customs officials. To this end, the WCO has developed an interface known as the Interface Public-‐Members (IPM). This is a user-‐friendly and functional instrument that provides frontline customs officials with all the information required to identify counterfeit or pirated products. In addition to information on the products, IPM provides information on regular supply routes, packaging characteristics, previous cases of counterfeiting, rights holders’ contact information in each country and information on distinctions between originals and fakes. While the WCO focuses on operational aspects, it is also important to build relationships that enable the up-‐stream consideration of issues. To this end, the WCO has recently established an agreement protocol with the WAITO Foundation, to assist in raising awareness about this phenomenon and in defining an effective policy to fight organized crime. I am convinced that this agreement protocol between the WCO and the WAITO Foundation, the activities of the latter and this report provide solid foundations for the establishment of a just and safe society.
Copyright-‐ This confidential report is the Intellectual property of the WAITO Foundation all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or diffused under any form or by any means, including photocopies and recordings, or by any information storage or recovery system.