Anticounterfeiting Committee Advocates for Enforcement Worldwide

The Anticounterfeiting Committee (ACC) is dedicated to the enforcement of anticounterfeiting procedures worldwide. The Committee evaluates treaties, laws, and regulations related to anticounterfeiting and enforcement, develops and advocates for strong policies to protect against infringement, and promotes enforcement education.

As INTA’s largest committee, this term the ACC is divided into nine regional subcommittees. Each subcommittee develops its objectives based on the Association’s 2022–2025 Strategic Plan. The ACC has three Global Project Teams, each one with a specific topic to develop: Anticounterfeiting Policy, Customs, and Online Counterfeiting.

The Anticounterfeiting Policy Global Project Team develops the Association’s anticounterfeiting positions and the Committee’s implementation plan on a global scale. This term, the ACC Policy Project Team focused on a survey on contributory liability for online intermediaries. The survey results will be used to inform a draft Board Resolution on contributory liability for third-party sales of counterfeit goods. The Resolution will be submitted to the Board of Directors in November when it meets at the 2023 Leadership Meeting.

The Online Counterfeiting Global Project Team focuses its work on best practices for addressing the sale of counterfeits on the Internet. Its purpose is to develop talking points and messaging that urges the adoption of these best practices by intermediaries. This team, in collaboration with other ACC members, organized the Anticounterfeiting Workshop that took place during the Annual Meeting in Singapore.

The Customs Global Project Team works to improve customs procedures and resources worldwide, and it is working closely with six of the nine regional ACC subcommittees on the mapping of global counterfeit trade routes in 45 countries.

The nine regional subcommittees are extremely active in advocacy and awareness work. Some key highlights are described below, by subcommittee:

China Subcommittee: This subcommittee has been very active in policy dialogues with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court and the Quality Brands Protection Committee of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment on the possible collaboration and sharing of anticounterfeiting issues in China with the European Union Intellectual Property Office. The subcommittee was also very active in arranging high-level meetings with the Chinese judiciary during the Annual Meeting in Singapore.

East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee: This subcommittee updated a survey of anticounterfeiting organizations in 16 priority countries. The survey summarizes the developments undertaken by each body. The findings will be used as an engagement plan for these priority countries.

Latin America and Caribbean Subcommittee: This subcommittee developed a strategy to raise awareness of the importance of anticounterfeiting measures in the region to ensure safe delivery of products, including COVID-related products. Additionally, it organized a customs training in Mexico and approached the police unit in Rio Grande in southern Brazil.

To help illustrate the impact of illicit trade in this region, ACC Chair Claudette Vernot (Estrategia Juridica, Colombia) was invited to author a chapter in the book Criminal Economies: Multidimensional Approaches, an educational initiative led by the University for Peace together with Philip Morris International. This chapter, entitled “Vision and Contributions of International Private Organizations and Associations for a Public-Private Approach to Illicit Trade Prevention,” highlights how organizations such as INTA can actively participate in the fight against illegal trade. The book will be launched in December 2023.

Middle East and Africa Subcommittee: This subcommittee actively engaged with government bodies in the region to disseminate INTA’s anticounterfeiting policies. It provided input on Mauritius’ new intellectual property law. It also participated in the Africa Trade and Customs Week Summit held in South Africa in November 2022. Additionally, it conducted Unreal Campaigns in Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa.

South Asia Subcommittee: This subcommittee participated in a Training Session with the Sri Lanka Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) on November 8, 2022 to raise awareness on the danger of counterfeits for consumers and to share best practices. It also submitted comments, together with the Internet Committee, on draft amendments to existing information technology in November 2022.

United States Subcommittee: A white paper about data sharing with customs offices is currently being drafted. An article about the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) has been prepared for publication.

Western Europe Subcommittee: In May, this subcommittee engaged UNIFAB which shares a common interest in the fight against online illicit sales of medicines, the passing of the Digital Services Act (DSA)/Digital Markets Act (DMA) into French law, and French government proposed anticounterfeiting legislation. The subcommittee also took the opportunity to share INTA’s recently passed Board Resolution on Domain Name System Abuse.

Eastern Europe and Central Asia Subcommittee: This subcommittee mapped counterfeit trade routes in Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Turkey. Policy dialogues on online counterfeiting took place in Georgia and Turkey.

The ACC continues its cross collaboration with other INTA committees. Its passionate and dedicated members continue to support what has turned out to be an incredibly prolific committee term for the Committee.

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this article, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.

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