Mr. Ian Grant, Head of anti-Piracy Enforcement Unit for IFPI, welcomed the participants and on behalf of all the members he thanked Will Robinson for his dedication and hard work in the past years for this group. Mr. Grant wished the Group a successful meeting.

Will Robinson welcomed the new members and thanked IFPI for hosting the meeting, the excellent organization and hospitality.

Minutes and action list of the sixth meeting, 30 November 2001, were approved.

Feedback from the Training Session (Portugal; 10 and 11 December 2001)

18 companies participated. Customs were very interested and the meeting resulted immediately in new seizures. Unfortunately the filing system in Portugal seems quite complicated. The fees are 175 € per 6 months and there is no specific form; rights owners need to make their own interpretation of the EU regulations. Customs will however accept simplified document, but find enforcement difficult due to a lack information from rights owners. REACT is arranging to supply the Customs with digital camera’s to improve communication and information exchange with the companies.

IFPI confirmed that they will carry out training in Portugal within the next 3 months.

Feedback from a European Commission meeting in Helsinki:

Mr. Salvage (UK Customs), Tom Fadrhonc (Nike) and Aline Olie (adidas): described the 6 main recommendations;
1. Anti-countereiting measures should be part of the normal day to day activities of customs officers and should be afforded a common priority level across the EU.
2. The use of Customs Information System (CIS) is to be strongly encouraged additionally, there should be be direct connections between front line officers at airports, seaports, and transit offices. Front line officers should also have access to the internet to facilitate communication and information.
3. The use of memoranda of understanding (MOU) should be used more widely in the field of IPR fraud.
4. A guide manual for front line officers.
5. There should be one multi-lingual application form to cover the whole of the EU in order to improve the level of information given to customs and to facilitate ease of completion by the right holders.
6. Task forcing between member states and applicant countries to improve and strengthen enlarged external borders and to provide support.

Model legislation – update.

TRIPS provides for a legislative framework with minimum standards. Many developing countries have used the existing model, but are unable to interdict exports, goods in transit and work Ex Officio. At the 21sr Session of the WCO Enforcement Committee, customs authorities briefly considered the proposals for amendments to the model law. Initial consultation has resulted in the identification of a number of difficulties with the provisional draft, including the time limit of the application, de minimus exemption, and amicable settlement proposal. These issues require further detailed consideration. WCO Member Customs administrations now need to take ownership of this draft, and revise it in order to solve these problems.

Action Point: A special session of the WCO Business Partnership will be convened at Union des Fabricants premises on 15th April 2002 to discuss these issues. This session will primarily be for Customs Administrations, with one or two observers from international organisations and business. The full business group will be invited to attend on 16th April 2002, where a verbal report of progress will be made.

Disclosure of information by Customs.

This issue was discussed briefly. Substantive discussions were deferred until the sessions dealing with the provisions within WCO model law.

WCO IPR video – update by Nikki Sheath (Harley-Davidson): The conclusion of the video has been re-written. An extra day of filming is required which will increase expenditure. IFPI will give cost estimate for making CD/DVD of the video film. Nikki thanked every one who has contributed to the video in particular Magali Le Parc.

Barbara Baker explained the UN/ECE initiatives, which included The Baltic countries, Russia, and Ukraine in 2001. On 25th and 26th February UN/ECE are delivering training in Lithuania for Customs and Judges (followed by the WCO training session on the 28th). In April there is a consultation meeting with Polish Customs. In May/June a seminar in Riga, Latvia has been arranged. A needs assessment for Russia has been finalised and training has been requested. A report on this will be finished within a few weeks; USPTO is participating in this work.

Will Robinson described the outcome of the recent enforcement meeting at WIPO, which USPTO also attended. WIPO’s main enforcement objective involves the sharing of best practice in the form of models and standards. The WCO model IPR legislation is a good example of this approach. A report from the chairman of this meeting will be circulated as soon as possible.

USPTO introduced by Robert Stoll and Michael Smith in cooperation with George McCray (US Customs). USPTO appreciate the co-operation with WCO and the IPR Group and wish to avoid duplication of effort, especially in the area of training. They participate in many international initiatives and also organise a year conference twice each year for Judge’s etc about anti counterfeit. They will send schedule of their program. George McCray will sent Wilfrid Roge details/statistics of American seizures.

4IPR – Presentation by Patrick O’Neil/REACT UK.

Presentation by Henny Roeland (C2Resolution). He explained that the indemnification requirements of customs often result in companies being deterred from making customs applications. With the growing number of countries introducing this enforcement system and the increasing demand of rights owners this problem will only grow. Henny Roeland proposed that the Group should consider the setting up of an insurance policy covering the indemnification world wide of national customs authorities. This approach would require the support of the WCO. Within three weeks there will be a proposal placed on the wcoipr.org Internet site for this project. We need an explanation of the problem and possible solutions to be described in a document for discussion, as soon as possible.

Action Point:

PLEASE PROVIDE THE SECRETARIAT PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES WITH BONDS, BANK GUARANTEES AND/OR ANY OTHER INDEMNIFICATIONS REQUESTED BY CUSTOMS.

This will be incorporated into a document, which will be used to develop this service.

NEXT MEETING

Mr. Wilfrid Roge (French Customs) and Union de Fabricants, volunteered to jointly organise next meeting in Paris. The meeting has been arranged as follows:

Session 1) 15th April 2002, primarily for Customs Administrations to discuss the business proposals;

Session 2) 16th April 2002, to which the full group of Customs and businesses will be invited. A verbal progress report from session 1 will also be given.

The meeting will take place at:

Union des Fabricants
16 rue de la Faisanderie - 75016 Paris
T:00 33 1 56 26 14 00 - F:00 33 1 56 26 14 01
www.unifab.com

Contact for hotel accomodation:
Delphine SARFATI-SOBREIRA
Directrice Communication & Développement
Communication and Development Manager

Image of the meeting