Major Brand Owners Urge European Commission to Tackle Counterfeiting

On January 31, 2017, 81 of the world’s largest consumer goods manufacturers, including Adidas, Apple, BASF, Bayer, Chanel, LVMH, Nike, Philips, Servier and Coca-Cola, sent a joint letter to the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker calling for action against counterfeiting, with a focus on intermediaries.

In the letter, the signatories encourage the Commission to take advantage of the upcoming revision to the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) to modernize the existing rules and ensure that all actors in the distribution chain take an active part in addressing counterfeiting.

In particular, the signatories argued that the proliferation of counterfeiting has been accentuated by the development of the online marketplace and intermediaries, such as social media platforms, delivery companies, domain name registrars, search engines and payment services, which have a privileged position in the online distribution value chain and should therefore contribute to the fight against counterfeiting by taking proactive and effective measures to prevent the circulation of counterfeit goods.

The brand owners pointed out the reliance of the EU economy on innovation and creativity and stressed the need for a new legal framework to protect companies and consumers, particularly small and medium enterprises that might not have the resources to combat IP infringement themselves.

Prepared by: Djurdja Krivokapić

For more information, please contact mail@petosevic.com.

Source: European Brands Association