EU seeks global anti-counterfeiting pact

The Commission wants member states to give it a mandate to negotiate a new agreement with its major trading partners, aimed at raising the standard of global intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and tackling the rising and increasingly problematic trade in counterfeit goods, it announced on 23 October.

The goal of the so-called ‘ACTA’ (anti-counterfeiting trade agreement) would be to improve cooperation among national authorities in charge of combating counterfeiting through better communication and the establishment of common standards and enforcement practices, including legal penalties. 

To begin with, the Commission wants to start negotiations with “economies that consider IPR a key instrument for their development and innovation policies”, including the US, Japan, Switzerland, Canada, South Korea, Mexico and New Zealand. 

It denies that the initiative is tantamount to “ganging up on China”, the world’s worst IPR offender, saying that it hopes China and other countries will sign up to the stricter standards “when they feel the time is right” to do so. 

Trade in counterfeit goods has increased hugely over recent years. The number of objects seized at the EU’s borders increased from 75 million in 2005 to 130 million in 2006, and the OECD estimates the annual value of international trade in counterfeit goods at $200 billion – a figure which represents 2% of world trade and is higher than the GDP of 150 countries. 

This growing trend results not only in a reduction of government income through lost taxes, but also in lost business opportunities, lower investments in innovative products and SME closures as they fail to compete with cheap knock-offs. 

Moreover, an increasing number of counterfeit products are objects that, if defective, could have serious health and safety repercussions, such as fake airplane and car parts, electrical appliances, toys, medicines and food products. 

Business groups have welcomed the announcement, saying that the ACTA “has the potential to be an important tool in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy, [which] poses an ever-increasing threat to the world economy, as well as to the health and safety of consumers […] Cooperation with our major trading partners to combat the growing illegal trade is a key element in this fight. We look forward to seeing more details of the intended international agreement, which we hope will lead to the establishment of best enforcement practices, not only among the founding parties but also throughout the world.”

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