MEP calls for tougher action against product piracy

Gianluca Susta, an Italian MEP is calling for a much tougher line to be taken against product piracy. In the draft – PDF file – of a report by the European Parliament on the impact of product counterfeiting he calls for the creation of an EU agency to coordinate countermeasures against product piracy. He claims such an agency would improve the effectiveness of the measures already in place, and would create "synergies" with private enterprise. The MEP is also calling for an extension of the trade-related aspects of the World Trade Organization's intellectual property rights agreement TRIPS and for a speedy conclusion to the 'Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement' (ACTA) being drawn up by the leading industrial nations.

Susta says there is "a great deal at stake" in the fight against product and brand piracy. He estimates the market for fake products at almost €500 billion – roughly £402 billion, or the equivalent of seven to ten per cent of world trade. The European economy specialises in the production of products in the upper price segments which are often protected by intellectual property rights. Protecting intellectual property rights is therefore an "essential method of promoting the competitiveness of European business and industry".

The paper calls specifically for the European Commission to extend the scope of the TRIPS agreement to cover export, shipping and the handling of goods. Also, the agreement should include all intellectual property rights not previously included. The draft proposes that an appropriate level of funding is made to developing countries in order to avoid the potential risks involved with counterfeit products and to 'deter' direct foreign investment and criminal and terrorist operations in these nations. In order to combat the "alarming scale" that "the production of counterfeit and pirated goods has reached in some emerging economies" special mechanisms are needed to improve coordination between customs, the judiciary and the police.

Susta praises the ACTA anti-piracy agreement, which was negotiated in secret and is considered too drastic even by some US business sectors, calling it a "key reference point" for the fight against product counterfeiting and an "important means of applying pressure" to non-participating third-party states. The Italian also recommends the introduction of an "effective system of monitoring possible violations of intellectual property rights". Here, he favours the option of temporarily suspending preferential customs treatment for trading partners who "employ unfair business practices". Members of the Parliamentary Committee on International Trade have until Friday to submit requests for change.

(Stefan Krempl)

(trk)