Foodstuff and beverages are among the main categories of products seized by EU customs, reaching over 2 million of articles seized according to the latest EU customs report released in October 2015. Products for daily use and products that would be potentially dangerous to the health and safety of people, such as fake food and beverages, accounted for a total of 28,6% of the total amount of detained articles in 2014.
Fighting intellectual property (IP) crime and ensuring effective enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) are key challenges in safeguarding European population against dangerous and substandard products, while tackling the low risk/high revenue illegal activities of criminal organizations.
In that perspective, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), through the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights, Europol and Eurojust, gathered investigators from customs and police, public prosecutors, private sector – and policy makers, to exchange experiences and best practices in relation to intellectual property crime in the sector of foodstuff, beverages and agricultural products.
An interdisciplinary event among those institutions, part of a series of similar actions organised since 2013, is being co-hosted by these three EU bodies in Alicante, from 16 to 18 March, providing an opportunity to reinforce operational ties between enforcement authorities and businesses and identify new challenges in the fight against counterfeiting in these sectors.
These discussions built upon the expertise of the EU network of IP prosecutors, composed now of some 60 prosecutors from 20 Member States and 7 non EU Member States who met on 14 and 15 March to discuss the challenges to prosecute those facilitating or financing IPR offences online. The objective of this network is to share knowledge and leverage expertise in order to better fight cross-border violations of IPR.
António Campinos, President of OHIM, commented: ‘thanks to the Observatory’s unique platform, OHIM can support operational efforts from police forces, prosecutors, customs authorities and raise awareness of the damages of IPR infringements for both consumers and businesses. Integrated cooperation with Eurojust and Europol offers an added value to deliver objective data, raise awareness of the damage caused by counterfeiting and piracy as well as develop best practice and cross-border cooperation, in line with our mandate’.
The Hungarian national member and Contact Point of Eurojust, László Venczl said: ‘I express Eurojust’s appreciation for the continued efforts by OHIM to sustain the collaboration between our respective organizations, fostering partnership and synergies. A multi-disciplinary approach is needed in the fight against infringements of intellectual property rights, especially in the ever-changing digital environment.’
Wil van Gemert, Deputy Director of Operations at Europol, said: “Sophisticated counterfeiters are increasingly able to produce products that are hard to distinguish from the genuine ones, and the best way to tackle those criminals is via an effective exchange of intelligence with our partners. Close cooperation between business and law enforcement is needed to challenge the criminal organisations that are exploiting the intellectual property of others, and this coalition of three parties combining efforts is a great example of the type of strategic alliance required.”
