Thursday, May 15, 2008

EU Internal Market Commissioner: Anti-counterfeiting and -piracy Solutions To Be Found In Public-private Cooperation


On a 13 May commission-sponsored high level conference, the Internal Market Commissioner Mr Charlie McCreevy stressed that regulation is not the only answer to fight counterfeiting and piracy, but that the private sector itself is best placed to lead the battle against the fakes. Tomorrow exactly two years ago, when Mr McGreevy visited China to advance the international regulatory agenda, he probably had higher hopes for regulation, read here (pdf).

Marc-Antoine Jamet, president of l’Union des Fabricants, whose members include Pfizer, Lacoste, Microsoft and Disney, said:

"There is qualitative change as activities become global, and diversification into goods and products such as wine, car parts, clothing, and toys, he said. Counterfeiting is increasingly carried out by organised crime, and industrialisation means tourists no longer have to travel to Thailand to buy fakes from China but can find them anywhere, including online [..]".

Read Dugie Standeford's article for Intellectual Property Watch here.

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