INTA Supports New Agreement Against Illicit Trade - International Trademark Association

Public and private stakeholders joined together to demonstrate their support to help fight illicit trade, with the initiation of a broad Cooperation Agreement struck recently in Chile. INTA was among those participating in the presentation of the Agreement, which includes intellectual property (IP) as an integral part of the work plan for the remainder of 2020.

José Luis Londoño, Chief Representative Officer for INTA’s Latin America and the Caribbean Office, and Agustina Davis, Associate at INTA’s Latin America and the Caribbean Office, attended a virtual meeting on August 4 at the Illicit Trade Observatory of the Chilean Chamber of Commerce Services and Tourism. The main purpose of the meeting was to present the Cooperation Agreement that the Illicit Trade Observatory signed with Chilean Customs on July 17. (Read the full version of the Agreement.)

The Agreement is very broad and covers 15 different areas of cooperation, all based on the main purpose of joining forces to fight illicit trade in general. This will be done through efficient mechanisms of collaboration and will include working groups, investigations, data exchange, and educational events and activities.

The Administrative Deputy Director of Chilean Customs, Gustavo Poblete, opened the meeting by commenting on the role and hard work of the institution in matters of contraband control and illicit trade. Daniel Montalva, Secretary General of the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism, presented the work planfor the second half of 2020, which focuses on improving the exchange of information, IP, studies on illicit traffic, strengthening skills; and educational activities.

Ricardo Mewes, President of the Illicit Trade Observatory, thanked all the attendees for their commitment, and called on the affected industries to become part of the judicial efforts to accompany the supervisory bodies such as Chilean Customs. He emphasized that to truly eradicate contraband and illicit trade, it is important that companies take the appropriate judicial action themselves as soon as the authorities start investigations and legal actions.

During the meeting, Mr. Londoño reiterated INTA’s support to help implement the Agreement. “We have committed to be at the Observatory’s disposal with our members and staff to contribute to the different strategies that are being presented,” he said. “We already have the experience of working with the Observatory through our Unreal Campaign [to educate young consumers about counterfeits], and we hope to continue contributing in this regard.”

Within the framework of the Agreement, the Observatory together with Chilean Customs will begin working with different task forces that will meet periodically. INTA will be represented on these task forces by Mr. Londoño and Ms. Davis, as well as members of the Anticounterfeiting Committee, Enforcement Committee, Parallel Imports Committee, and Unreal Campaign 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.