*NEWS*EU:12% RISE IN COUNTERFEIT GOODS

[Anonymous]

EU Says 12% Rise in Counterfeit Goods Seized Is Growing Threat

Oct. 05 — The European
Union is seeking faster communication among customs agents as a 12
percent rise in seizures of counterfeit goods last year shows a growing
threat to companies such as Nokia Oyj, Sony Corp. and Hewlett-Packard
Co.
The European Commission today proposed an electronic system to
instantly notify customs agencies of captures throughout the 25- nation
EU. The plan would thwart counterfeiters who now shift products between
entry points more quickly than authorities can alert colleagues, the
commission said in Brussels.
Product piracy costs companies $450 billion a year in lost sales,
according to the World Economic Forum. The problem is worsening as
counterfeit makers shift from luxury items to consumer goods in higher
volumes, as shown by customs seizures of 103 million counterfeit
brand-name items in 2004, the commission said.
“It is increasingly difficult to reveal the counterfeit nature of the
product,” Customs Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs said to reporters. Before
him stood a display of seized goods including fakes of a Nokia mobile
phone, Sony microphone and Hewlett- Packard printer cartridge.
The commission, the EU’s executive branch, is pushing to establish a
task force of customs experts to improve operations as early as next
month. The EU agency further plans to convene a working group of
business representatives to advise authorities on spotting fakes. The
commission today also called for more cooperation with airlines and
shipping companies to halt the transit of counterfeits.
China Visit
Kovacs said he is going next month to China, the origin of 70 percent
of counterfeit goods seized in the EU, to inaugurate an anti-piracy
cooperation accord with the government there. The commission plans to
seek similar agreements with India, Pakistan, Thailand, plus other
countries in Asia and elsewhere.
Past efforts for more coordination among customs agents are being
overtaken as counterfeit manufacturers and traders grow more
sophisticated, the commission said. Internet-based sales are a rising
source of such goods and accounted for 30 percent of items seized in
the post.
Clothing, cigarettes, movies and music remain some of the
most-counterfeited goods. Still, the agency warned that increasing
piracy of medicine, foodstuffs and children’s toys represent a new risk
to health. Organized crime and terrorist organizations reap many of the
gains, the commission said.

[Author]

October 12, 2005 at 10:50 AM