James Nurton, Brussels

The director general of the European Commissions’ taxation and customs directorate yesterday said “we have not been aggressive enough” in alerting
consumers to the dangers of counterfeiting. Speaking at the IP Summit in Brussels, organised by Premier Cercle, Robert Verrue said counterfeiting is a “large-scale” activity, which needs to be tackled. But he added: “We need to make sure the degree of awareness of consumers increases considerably.”

Verrue, who was speaking on behalf of commissioner László Kovács, highlighted the risk of counterfeit pharmaceutical products entering the supply chain in Europe as an example of the threat to consumers. He said that increased vigilance over trade and especially transhipment of goods is required to deal with counterfeiting, but warned: “This is extremely difficult to control.”

He also welcomed discussions on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), but said he could not give any update on the latest negotiations.Also speaking at the IP Summit, Péter Balás, assistant director-general of the trade directorate, explained the European Union’s proposal for a WTO registration system for geographical indications, and commented on the EU’s stance towards developing countries’ priorities for the Convention on Biological Diversity.

From:www.managingip.com