Posted on Tuesday April 3, 2012
The World Trade Organization’s TRIPS Agreement defines counterfeit as “any goods, including packaging, bearing without authorization a trademark which is identical to the trademark validly registered in respect of such goods, or which cannot be distinguished in its essential aspects from such a trademark, and which thereby infringes the rights of the owner of the trademark in question under the law of the country of importation”. Pirated goods, on the other hand, “shall mean any goods which are copies made without the consent of the right holder or person duly authorized by the right holder in the country of production and which are made directly or indirectly from an article where the making of that copy would have constituted an infringement of a copyright or a related right under the law of the country of importation.”
Organizations like the International Authentication Association (IAA) combat counterfeiting. The members are companies dedicated to reducing counterfeits globally through education, awareness and collaboration.
The IAA provides information to government initiatives on anti-counterfeiting and also works with inter-governmental and industry associations to help ensure that the discussion and implementation of standards is based on a full understanding of what authentication can achieve and how frameworks can be devised.
Posted by Paul Johnson op Tuesday 10 April 2012
Paul, does the IAA have any enforcement power or are do they just provide information on anti-counterfeiting standards? It seems like countries are only willing to change their laws on counterfeiting when the World Trade Organization forces them to by threatening their WTO membership status (though of course this pulls little weight with countries that are not part of the WTO).
Posted by Camille op Wednesday 11 April 2012
Alright, apart from educating and informing governments and brand owners, the IAA promotes the use of authentication systems as part of a strategy to protect companies from counterfeiting. Furthermore, the IAA aims to lead the discussion and debate on the development of the authentication industry. Through the IAA, the authentication community is able to speak with one voice. The IAA represents the authentication community among organizations with an interest in global anti-counterfeiting. Members set the global authentication agenda and help to develop international standards.
Be aware that there are two types of IAA members: the users and suppliers of authentication solutions. So, the IAA brings brand owners and solution providers together in order to establish best practices in authentication.
Posted by Paul Johnson op Tuesday 17 April 2012
