On January 23 this year, at the Customs Service Training Centre were displayed publicly the first exhibits of counterfeit goods, detained by customs officers. The exhibits of counterfeit products were presented at a press conference in which was summed up the work of customs bodies in the field of protection of intellectual property rights at the border in 2012.

Adrian Morarescu, Head of the Customs Duty Collection Control and Legal Assistance Department, said that as a result of actions initiated by the Customs Service to protect the domestic market from the import of counterfeit and pirated goods, during the year 2012 were conducted 135 customs controls on products susceptible of being counterfeit being retained about 90 thousand counterfeit products. At the same time, rightholders have submitted 275 intervention applications to the Customs Service for 480 intellectual property objects. The most frequently subjected to counterfeiting and piracy are cosmetic, hygienic, pharmaceutical products, clothes and accessories. Ukraine and China are the main sources of counterfeit products, accounting for over 70% of all articles that infringe IP rights.

The realization of the procedure for implementation of border protection measures, initiated by the Customs Service on intellectual property objects, involves close cooperation between customs authorities, State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI), Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and rightholders.

In the press conference, the Deputy Director General of AGEPI, Mr. John Tiganas, appreciated the work of the Customs Service in the field of protection of intellectual property rights at the border, noting that infringement of these rights represent a phenomenon causing significant damage to rightholders and increasingly diverse and ingenious forms of counterfeiting have the effect of disruption of trade and distortion of trade rules. “A proper producer invests in creating, developing and launching a product, in its manufacture according to quality parameters that meet consumer demands, then in promoting the said product. Firms that practice counterfeiting put on the market products of questionable quality, copied without license issued by the rightholder of trademark. They mislead and create confusion in the perception of consumers. Therefore, in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy is necessary to be involved both rightholders and consumers, who must notify the competent authorities and institutions”, added the Deputy Director General of AGEPI.

The Head of the Intellectual Property Protection Department of the Customs Service, Mrs. Elena Paladi, presented the audience the exhibits of counterfeit goods. They are designed primarily to train both Customs Service employees involved in the protection of intellectual property rights at the border and consumers, to help them distinguish an original product from a counterfeit one. Mrs. E. Paladi added that the lack of effective cooperation between Customs Service and rightholders makes very difficult the enforcement of intellectual property rights. In this regard, the Customs Service signed with 5 companies Memoranda of Understanding on joint efforts to combat smuggling and trafficking of goods and to ensure the protection of intellectual property rights at the border. The overall objective of these understandings is to establish a sustainable framework of cooperation between Customs Service and rightholders by providing a reciprocal exchange of intelligence and analytical information in order to identify goods susceptible of being counterfeit.

Details at: www.customs.gov.md
AGEPI Press Service