What: National Conference on Counterfeiting and Role of Enforcement Agencies
Where: New Delhi
When: 13-14 March, 2018
Who: Suresh Prabhu
- A National Conference on Counterfeiting and Role of Enforcement Agencies is going to be held on 13-14 March, 2018 in New Delhi. The conference will be inaugurated by Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Suresh Prabhu.
- The conference is being hosted by the Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) in collaboration with European Union (EU).
- CIPAM is a professional body under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
- The conference intends to bring together national and international experts on the same platform to have a dialogue and exchange best practices for the benefit of enforcement agencies, attorneys and industry representatives and provide fresh ideas for further strengthening the IPR protection ecosystem.
- It will also act as a platform for the officials to share their experiences and better inter-agency coordination with respect to tackling the menace of counterfeiting. Besides people from enforcement agencies, many IP professionals, lawyers, e-commerce stakeholders and people from industry associations are also participating in the conference.
About Counterfeiting
- Counterfeiting has grown considerably to a point where it has become a widespread phenomenon with a global impact.
- Counterfeiting, other than causing an erosion on the brand value, reputation and goodwill of the manufacturers and owners of IP, leads to social and economic consequences resulting in huge economic losses in terms of lost taxes and revenues. It leads to diversion of funds earned therefrom to other illegal activities; counterfeit products put a threat to consumers’ health and safety as well.
- Enforcement agencies like police, customs, as also the prosecution wing, have a major role to play in effective enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in the country.
- Creating awareness about IPRs and the menace of counterfeiting amongst officials of these agencies will strengthen the enforcement regime, as also assist them in handling cases relating to counterfeit products in their day to day activities.
The Government Initiatives
- The government has taken several initiatives to spread awareness among enforcement agencies about the importance of their role in IPR enforcement.
- In 2017, the Ministry had also launched a toolkit for Police officials across the country to help them deal with IP crimes, specifically Trade Marks counterfeiting and Copyrights piracy.
- A three-day national workshop on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) was also held in August 2017. Additionally, multiple training sessions have also been conducted for police officials from across the country.
