European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy

The Commission aims to ensure that a truly efficient and proportionate system of enforcement of intellectual property rights exists, both within and outside the internal market, said the press release of 14 December 2009 (IP/09/1919).



IPRED




Already the European Union already has the directive known as IPRED in place, providing for the (civil) measures, procedures and remedies necessary to ensure the enforcement of intellectual property rights (including industrial property rights):


DIRECTIVE 2004/48/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights


(The corrected version of this text with EEA relevance was published in the Official Journal of the European Union 2.6.2004 L 195/16.)



European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy




However, the European Commission is far from content with progress this far.

Last Spring, the European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy was created to spread the best enforcement techniques to combat infringements of intellectual property rights.

Little public information of substance exists about the Observatory, but it is administered by the Commission’s internal market services and designed to join national public officials as well as representatives of IP rights holders experienced in IPR enforcement (designated as stakeholders).

Despite token consumer representation, citizens, consumers and net users, especially youth, mainly seem to have been cast into the role of receivers of awareness and education campaigns.



This meeting report from the sub-group on the legal framework, by the European Communities Trade Mark Association (ECTA), sheds some light on representation and work within the Observatory. The consumer representative (BEUC) was not present, but the following were represented:

Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP; ICC), Union des Fabricants (Unifab, the French anti-counterfeiting and IPR protection association), Istituto di Centromarca per la lotta alla contrafazzione (Indicam; Italian anti-counterfeiting association), the Motion Picture Association, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the Business Software Alliance (promoting IPR protection for the software industry) and (national) representatives of the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group (GACG) Network.


There is nothing wrong in business associations lobbying openly for their interests during the process of creating regulation, but it becomes problematic when one angle – increasing and enforcing monopoly rights - becomes the driving force behind the public EU Commission machinery, which is supposed to shape balanced rules taking all interests into account.

With an input mechanism totally dominated by IPR enforcement interests, there seems to be practically no real voice for citizens, net users or consumers with an interest in the free flow of information.

The same pattern is discernible in legislative initiatives in EU member states such as France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Good public policy should build on the markets as much as on the marketeers.




Ralf Grahn

European Counterfeiting and Piracy Observatory launched

The European Counterfeiting and Piracy Observatory was duly launched 2 April 2009. The Commission has now published some additional information on the aims and organisation of the Observatory (Frequently Asked Questions; MEMO/ 09/146).



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Council’s anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy plan

The Observatory is part of the European Union’s actions, put into context by the 25 September 2008 Resolution of the Competitiveness Council on a comprehensive European anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy plan.



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EU Customs Action Plan to Combat IPR Infringements 2009-2012

A short while ago we noted another part of the European anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy plan, Council Resolution 2009/C 71/01 of 16 March 2009 on the EU Customs Action Plan to combat IPR infringements for the years 2009 to 2012, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 25.3.2009 C 71/1.



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Industrial property rights

The Council Resolution, in turn, was based on the Commission’s Communication An Industrial Property Rights Strategy for Europe (Brussels 16.7.2008; COM(2008) 465 final), dealing with patents and trademarks.



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Community Trade Mark Regulation

Readers may have noticed the recast Community Trade Mark Regulation, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 24.3.2009 L 78/1. Officially, this text with EEA relevance is called:

Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the Community trade mark (codified version).


Ralf Grahn

European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy

On 2 April the Commission of the European Communities is going to launch a European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy. This is a new step in the European Union’s fight against fake goods, illegal downloading and other infringements of intellectual property rights (IPR).

The launch takes place at the second High Level Conference on Counterfeiting and Piracy, with presentations by industry interests and enforcement agencies.

For more information, see the Commission’s press release (30 March 2009, IP/09/497), including links to the conference programme and the OECD study Economic Impact of Counterfeiting and Piracy.


Ralf Grahn