Anti-Counterfeiting Group 14th High-Level Meeting

Counterfeiting and piracy represent an extremely prejudicial phenomena for the economy, presenting serious repercussions on the competitiveness of companies, distorting competition, breaking the confidence of economic agents in the market and reducing investment and innovation. They also contribute to the loss of tax revenue of the State, thus causing the States’ impoverishment, the consequent degradation of the living conditions offered to their citizens and a threat to their jobs.

Apart from these repercussions, counterfeiting and piracy are also very serious for consumers, particularly the counterfeiting related to products that endanger the consumer’s safety, public health and the environment, as this pandemic has unfortunately demonstrated.

The ‘2020 Status Report on IPR infringement - Why IP rights are important, IPR infringement and the fight against counterfeiting and piracy’, put together jointly by EUIPO and the OECD, states that due to counterfeiting   15 billion euros of public revenue are lost every year in the EU. Moreover, 97% of the counterfeit products identified were deemed as probable to present serious risks to consumers. This study also pointed out that in four selected sectors of activity - cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, wines and spirits, and toys and games - counterfeiting would represent a loss of 19 billion euros for the EU. In Portugal, such losses would amount to 331 million euros.

Therefore, GAC [Grupo Anti-Contrafação – Anti-Counterfeiting Group] has, since its creation endeavoured to provide synergies among its members, allowing the improvement of strategies to fight counterfeiting and piracy.

In this context, on April 14^th took place the 14^th GAC High-Level Meeting, on a digital format. In this meeting, the 2020 Activity Report and the 2021 Activity Plan were presented and unanimously approved.

As a result of GAC’s exchange of statistical information, the 2020 Activity Report reveals data related to the seizures carried out by AT [tax authority], PSP [Public Security Police], GNR [National Republican Guard] and ASAE [Authority for Economic and Food Safety], which amounted to a total of 1,390,379 units of counterfeit or pirated products. This is a clear sign of the important work that been developed by the various Portuguese authorities.

Nonetheless, it is important to combine enforcement activities with education and awareness activities regarding IP, and to warn businesses to protect their assets and make citizens understand the value of IP. The intention is to alert on the harmful effects of counterfeiting and to the fact that organised crime - which flourishes with the black economy - is mainly funded by counterfeiting. With this knowledge in mind, citizens may change their behaviour and stop selling or buying counterfeit products.

GAC's goal for 2021 is to continue the developed work, which is only possible by means of a permanent cooperation between the various public entities, the private sector and civil society.

We are aware that only with the collaboration of all will it be possible to change mentalities, thus aiming at eradication, or at least, a drastic reduction in counterfeiting and piracy.