ICC Welcomes G8 Support For Increased IP Protection

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

02 August 2006

The International Chamber of Commerce last week commended G8 leaders for proposing measures to better protect intellectual property rights at the G8 Summit in July, and called on those governments to turn their support into concrete action.

"The G8 statements promoting intellectual property are certainly welcome," observed ICC Secretary General Guy Sebban, "But we need to see them translated into action or we are left with nothing more than another piece of paper."

In a pre-summit meeting with G8 host and Russian President Vladmir Putin, ICC Chairman Marcus Wallenberg and other ICC officials presented a statement outlining key business concerns. They urged President Putin to discuss the need for stronger intellectual property rights enforcement with his G8 counterparts and are encouraged to see some of their recommendations included in the ensuing G8 statement.

The G8 statement on intellectual property, published on July 16, ran as follows:

"1. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening individual and collective efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting, especially trade in pirated and counterfeit goods and note that such efforts will contribute to the sustainable development of the world economy, including through innovations, as well as to health and safety of consumers all over the world.

2. Combating trade in pirated and counterfeit products is a complex problem which assumes, in the context of globalization, a transborder character, and can only be solved through individual and joint efforts by all nations and relevant international organizations. In that regard, we note the usefulness of international congresses and workshops devoted to effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

3. To continue the anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting activities, we consider it necessary to enhance cooperation in that area among the G8 and other countries, as well as competent international organizations, notably the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Customs Organization, Interpol, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Council of Europe.

4. We consider it necessary to give priority to promoting and upholding laws, regulations and/or procedures to strengthen intellectual property enforcement, raising awareness in civil society and in the business community of the legal ways to protect and enforce intellectual property rights and of the threats of piracy and counterfeiting, and also to providing technical assistance in that area to developing countries. Close cooperation between law enforcement agencies, including customs authorities, is also of great importance.

5. We consider it necessary to take, in the near term, the following concrete measures which will form the basis of a G8 work plan on piracy and counterfeiting:

• to create in each G8 country a website providing businesses and individuals with information on mechanisms available and procedures necessary to secure and enforce their intellectual property rights in that country, on threats posed by piracy and counterfeiting to public health, safety and the national interests of countries, consumers and business communities, as well as on measures taken at the national and international levels to combat intellectual property rights violations, and on relevant legislation and law enforcement practices;
• to engage the OECD in preparing and focusing its report estimating the economic consequences of piracy and counterfeiting on national economies and right holders, and public health and safety;
• in cooperation with WIPO, WTO, OECD, Interpol and WCO to develop and begin implementing technical assistance pilot plans within the G8 in interested developing countries to build the capacity necessary to combat trade in counterfeit and pirated goods;
• to improve border enforcement through increased customs co-ordination and exchange of enforcement information and best practices designed to better target the trade of counterfeit goods and combat intellectual property crime at the borders, including by examining effective strategies already being implemented within the G8 Customs Administrations as models for broader cooperation;
• to prepare recommendations aimed at improving G8 member countries' cooperative actions to combat serious and organized intellectual property rights crimes.
• We instruct our experts to study the possibilities of strengthening the international legal framework pertaining to IPR enforcement.

6. Taking into account the significant volume of global trade in pirated and counterfeit products which is often linked to organized crime, as well as economic, political and moral damage caused by intellectual property rights violations and crimes, we will continue to give priority to enhancing cooperation with a view to substantially reducing the global trade in pirated and counterfeit products, and to taking effective measures against transnational networks supporting such trade."

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