Counterfeit goods in transit: First round in favour of trademark owners!
On Monday 25 February 2014, as part of the future “Trade marks package” discussions, Members of the European Parliament adopted the Gallo- Rapkayamendment, restoring to European customs services the ability to control and stop trademark counterfeit goods in transit through the EU. The text adopted has in fact overturned the European Court of Justice’s Nokia/Philipsdecision, which had the practical effect of withdrawing this prerogative from customs, resulting in a drastic reduction of the number of counterfeit goods seized. This is a victory for rights holders. Indeed, the text voted by the Parliament – if adopted as such by the Council of the European Union – should result in a significant reinforcement of the global fight against counterfeit goods without affecting the trade in legitimate goods as set by WITO international rules.
Lear MoreBulgaria police bust large-amount of smuggled goods
Haskovo. Some 103,200 pieces of cigarettes without excise stamps, 317 pairs of trainers and 645 textile items of protected brands, as well as 712 undeclared textile items and detergents have been found and confiscated in an operation carried out at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint, the press office of the Bulgarian Interior Ministry announced.
Two mini-vans and four cars underwent thorough checks at the border checkpoint. All drivers were Bulgarian citizens from Svilengrad.
Five pre-court proceedings have been initiated. Work on the cases continues.
EU bolsters power to tackle in-transit counterfeits
The European Parliament (EP) has voted in favour of strengthened seizure powers for goods in transit that breach trademarks. The new provision – part of a comprehensive re-working of trademark law which also makes it easier to freeze and confiscate assets after a criminal conviction – were backed by 631 votes to 19 with 25 abstentions in the EP today. “Today, less than 1 per cent of the proceeds of crimes such as drug trafficking, counterfeiting, human trafficking and small arms smuggling are frozen and confiscated,” said the EP in a statement released after the vote.
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Combating counterfeits with light: focus on Visualant
A light-based authentication technology developed by US company Visualant is on the brink of becoming a commercial platform, according to the firm’s founder and chief executive Ron Erickson.
The system – known as ChromaID – consists of software and a scanner that employs a technology called spectral pattern matching (SPM). Using this approach, structured light is directed onto a surface material – or through a liquid or gas – creating and capturing a unique marker that is invisible to the human eye, according to Erickson (pictured).
Counterfeit cigarette sellers arrested
THOUSANDS of counterfeit and non-duty-paid cigarettes were recovered after three Worcester stores were raided. Three people were arrested following the joint initiative between Worcestershire Regulatory Services and Worcester Safer Neighbourhood Teams on Tuesday, February 25. West Mercia Police and Trading Standards Officers swooped on the premises with a sniffer dog after receiving information that a number of stores were selling suspected counterfeit and non-duty paid cigarettes. PC Alex Denny, from Worcester Cathedral‘s Safer Neighbourhood Team, said the sale of counterfeit cigarettes was a risk to the health of the public and to unsuspecting traders.
http://m.worcesternews.co.uk/news/11035648.Counterfeit_cigarette_sellers_arrested/
Lear MoreCounterfeit trade US$250 billion a year
‘The counterfeit goods industry is so sophisticated that it is often impossible to distinguish between the real deal and the spurious pretender. It is also cunningly stratified to cater to different sizes of consumer pockets…This is a common occurrence in markets with poor governance structures, especially for goods of high value brands like Swiss watches’. Last month, the United Nations launched a global campaign to highlight the extent of the growing rampancy of trading in counterfeit goods and its irrevocable link with organised crime, thus posing great risks to the international community. According to the world body’s estimates, the volume of trade in counterfeit goods amounts to a whopping US$250 billion a year, which is more than the combined GDP of dozens of nations put together. And these are only estimates. The real figure might be far bigger, going by the extent of such trade across a wide swathe of product categories and its geographical spread. To put this scenario as alarming is to put it rather mildly.
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Greece loses 1.7 billion euro annually from cigarette and fuel smuggling
The annual profits of fuel and cigarette smugglers have been compensated by the government through the imposition of the extra and regular property tax or by the cuts in the regular and auxiliary pensions as reported by the Greek Ethnos newspaper. According to the authors of the article, the smuggling cost of every Greek household is over 500 euro per year. The total damage to the state due to fuel smuggling alone is to the amount of 1 billion euro per year and that from cigarette smuggling 700 million euro annually. In particular, the total amount of the damage to the state due to fuel smuggling, including the loss of income and taxes, amounts to 600 million euro. However, according to market players, it is 1 billion euro, including the alleged “export” of fuel, the exact amount of which is very difficult to calculate.
http://www.grreporter.info/en/greece_loses_17_billion_euro_annually_cigarette_and
_fuel_smuggling/10759#sthash.3L4FhthZ.dpuf
Lear MoreNFA grilled on permit issued to farmers’ coop linked to rice smuggling
Officials of the National Food Authority (NFA) were grilled at a Senate hearing on Monday over the decision to issue an import permit to a farmers’ cooperative allegedly linked to rice smuggling.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto questioned why the San Carlos Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SACAMUCO) was given an import permit by even after the Bureau of Customs tagged it as one of the consignees involved in illegal rice trade. “Sa madaling salita, hindi niyo ginagawa ang trabaho niyo… Ang lumalabas dito, parang napapalusutan ang NFA,” Recto told NFA officials present at the hearing.
Lear MoreCoalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy Urge DHS to Continue IP Enforcement Programs
Keeping our citizens and nation safe is one of the core functions of the federal government, and we welcome the appointment of Secretary Jeh Johnson to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Sec. Johnson faces a challenging array of issues that demand his full attention, and we look forward to working with the Secretary and his department in support of their efforts. One area in which the Department has excelled in recent years is the ongoing enforcement program administered by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the National IPR Center: Operation in Our Sites (OiOS). This effort strives to protect consumers and industries from the very real threats posed by online piracy and the sale of counterfeit goods. Websites that traffic illicit and counterfeit drugs, consumer goods, electronics and footwear, and facilitate the online pirating of a wide array of copyrighted materials threaten the 40 million IP-intensive jobs our economy has come to rely on. Furthermore, the illicit sites take advantage of consumers, exposing them to identity theft or financial fraud in addition to pushing sometimes deceptively dangerous goods, such as fake medicines and consumer products.
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LoC Trade: 19 persons facing smuggling charges
Jammu, Feb 22: At least 19 persons have been booked for illegally smuggling contrabands from across the LoC using the trade route started between the divided parts of Kashmir in 2005. Police has registered six cases in this regard, the government told the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.
In his written response to a question by BJPs Chaman Lal Gupta the Government said three cases were registered in 2012 and two more cases have been registered in the first two months of this year. “Four cases are under investigation and police has presented challan in two cases,” the reply said. Giving break up the reply said in 2009 five person were booked for carrying out subervise activities like transaction of hawala money and Rs 7,85,000 were recovered from their possession.
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