Pakistan Customs Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) is taking steps to improve the country's IPR global ranking through its efforts to get Pakistan's name removed from the watch list of the Office of US Trade Representative.
Talking to Business Recorder here on Thursday, Director General IPR Enforcement Dr Arslan Subuctageen said that the Pakistan is in the list of countries on Priority Watch List. "Due to improvement in our IPR enforcement mechanism, the country was listed in the Watch List in 2017 and continues to be so in 2019. India still happens to be in the Priority Watch list."
He cautioned that importance of seizing counterfeit items like cosmetics is evident from the fact that such products are extremely dangerous for health and skin of general public.
Sharing details about the enforcement actions and measures taken by the DG IPR Enforcement, Dr Arslan said that Directorate General of IPR Enforcement is one of the recently established specialized departments within Pakistan Customs. The rationale behind the creation of this specialized department was to provide a single-stop for international and national right-holders to seek remedies against the infringement of their intellectual property rights in imports and exports, safeguarding the legitimate revenue for the state and the safety, security and health of the consumers.
Dr Subuctageen explained the immediate objective for establishment of the Customs IPR Directorates all over the country was to integrate them within the WEBOC Electronic Customs Clearance system. This was accomplished by January 2019. A total of 157 cases, worth a market value of more than Rs 200 million, of counterfeit goods have been detected nationwide since the operationalisation of Directorate General of IPR Enforcement in 2017. Huge quantities of these counterfeit goods were destroyed in two ceremonies held at Karachi in January 2019 and April 2019. Most of the counterfeit items destroyed included empty shampoo bottles, medicines, tooth pastes, toiletries, perfumes, watches, contraceptives and makeup products. Some of these fast moving consumer goods pose a serious threat to health and safety of consumers. Another destruction ceremony of counterfeit goods is scheduled to take place at Karachi during the last week of November 2019.
The director general IPR Enforcement stated that huge quantities of counterfeit cosmetics were seized by Directorates of IPR, Enforcement at Karachi and Islamabad. The importers had imported cosmetics of "Fair & Lovely", "Ponds", "Loreal", "Tresemme" and other famous brands, thus infringing their intellectual property rights. Similarly another consignment carrying counterfeit "Lakme" and "Loreal" brands makeup was also seized at the Islamabad dry port with an approximate market value of Rs 3.7 million. These fake make-up products contain dangerous mixtures that can damage the skin.
About the details of the global initiatives, a Joint Customs Operation (JCO) "HYGIEA" was organized by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in association with the administration of Asia Europe meeting (ASEM). The ASEM is an inter-governmental platform of 51 member states of Europe & Asia created for the purpose of cooperation on areas of mutual interest including customs with the objective of strengthening relationship between Asian and European countries. In addition to the member countries, two observer organizations viz Olaf and Europol were also participating. The JCO focused on interdiction of counterfeit Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs). Pakistan joined the JCO HYGIEA in March-2019 and FBR nominated the Directorate General of IPR (Enforcement) Islamabad to serve as national contact point for this operation.
A debriefing meeting of the operation was scheduled by European Anti-Fraud Office on 26th and 27th September 2019 at Rome, Italy with a view to evaluate the performance of 38 participating countries out of 51 members of ASEM during the specified period of five months. A presentation on Pakistan Customs IPR Enforcement's performance on operation HYGIEA was presented before this forum by Dr Subuctageen.
A final report on JCO HYGIEA formulated by Olaf revealed that performance of Pakistan was at the top with 12 seizures/forfeitures followed by Malta with 6 while Italy, France and Bangladesh were at the 3rd position with 2 seizures each. This outstanding performance of Pakistan Customs IPR (Enforcement) was acknowledged and highly appreciated by the Olaf, Europol, ASEM and all participating member states of the JCO HYGIEA bringing a good name for the country, FBR and Pakistan Customs, Dr Arslan maintained.
The Directorate General of IPR Enforcement has also accelerated its training and awareness activities all over Pakistan. A total of 40 trainings, seminars and interactive sessions have been carried out, which were attended by more than a thousand participants. An external outreach training program was also rolled out in May 2019 under which approximately 80 officers and officials of Pakistan Customs posted at MCC, Islamabad, MCC Peshawar and Directorate of IPR Central Lahore were trained on interdiction of counterfeit goods. Moreover, a seminar focusing on Safeguarding Consumer Rights was also arranged at Islamabad.
The Directorate General of IPR Enforcement seeks to promote genuine trade itself, whether national or international. A comprehensive policy and strategy paper focusing on IPR Border Enforcement has been prepared and published by Directorate General of IPR Enforcement that outlines specific enforcement strategy and deliverables. The paper has been prepared keeping in view the spirit of the TRIPS and WTO's Agreement on Trade Facilitation, to which Pakistan is a signatory.
Apart from the fact that IPR enforcement is a full-fledged customs function, it is also one of the key mechanisms for sustained economic growth. Since the establishment of Directorate General of IPR Enforcement, a significant number of right-holders from US, Europe, Far East and Asia are working directly with Pakistan Customs on their trade-mark related infringement issues on diverse items. In September, 2019 a sizeable quantity of fake copies of publication "From MTV to Mecca" was seized on the complaint filed by the author of the book Kristiane Backer. The fake books were printed in the UK and exported to Pakistan. These were seized from a local bookseller in Karachi. This case is first of a kind and has earned Pakistan Customs' appreciation from the international author herself.
"We are hopeful that Pakistan Customs will stand out in IPR Enforcement at borders and continue to curb the import of counterfeit goods. The basis for this optimism is our performance, continuous engagement with national and foreign stakeholders, and dedication to the cause of ensuring health and safety for the consumers," said Dr Subuctageen.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
Comments
Comments are closed.