Council welcomes Commission's communication on industrial property rights strategy for Europe

In its position, the Council takes into account the seriousness and the worrying growth of the phenomenon of counterfeiting and piracy, in particular in a globalised economy, for the competitiveness of the European Union, for its businesses, creative forces and consumers. The Council also highlights the scale of this phenomenon on the Internet and the risks involved in counterfeiting products, which poses a health and safety hazard.

The Council has published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Octiber 6th, 2008, a Resolution welcoming the Commission's communication of July 16th 2008 designed to implement an industrial property rights strategy for Europe, especially as regards the enforcement of industrial property rights and of copyright and related rights.

The Council encourages to mobilise all stakeholders to boost the effectiveness of the whole range of instruments for protecting intellectual property and combating counterfeiting and piracy on the internal market and internationally, pointing out that these measures are consistent with due regard for basic rights and general principles of Community law, such as the protection of personal data and the protection of property rights.

Some of the measures designed by the Commission's communication, and supported by the Council include:

  • Customs initiatives to combat counterfeiting and piracy at the borders and outside the European Union.
  • Action to complement legislation, designed to encourage a change in public perceptions of the phenomenon of counterfeiting and piracy, to increase precise awareness of the phenomenon, to improve cooperation between all stakeholders in the Member States, to establish an effective network for administrative cooperation between Member States, to allow for Europe-wide action, and to promote public/private partnership agreements and the conclusion of inter-industry agreements at European level to reduce piracy and the sale of counterfeit goods on the Internet.
  • Consideration of how cross-border enforcement of judgements can be improved.
  • Action designed to enforce intellectual property rights in third countries, through regular inquiries, through the promotion of effective protection of those rights in bilateral trade agreements, and through closer cooperation in the framework of regular dialogues with third states, especially those with a high level of counterfeiting and piracy.
  • Work on a plurilateral anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA).

The Council encourages the Commission to set up a European counterfeiting and piracy observatory to make a regular assessment of the exten of counterfeiting and piracy and a more precise analysis of these phenomena, disseminate the information on the phenomenon of counterfeiting and piracy to those involved in combating these phenomena, especially via the Internet, and to develop action to raise awareness and to communicate with those involved in combating counterfeiting and piracy and with consumers.

The Council invites the Commission and the Member States, acting within their respective spheres of competence, to use all appropriate means to combat counterfeiting and piracy effectively.