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Events & Meetings

GACG Network: Programme of members and partners meetings 2022

Unifab, France 24th EU IP Forum, Paris, 10-11 Feb 

FICCI CASCADE, India, Launch of Anti-Smuggling Day 11th Feb 

EU Observatory, Private Sector meeting, Brussels 24 Feb 

Marques Spring Meeting (Anti-Counterfeiting and Parallel Trade Team), Barcelona 10-11 Mar 

EU Observatory on Infringements of IPRs Working Group Meetings, Alicante 29-31 Mar 

QBPC Membership Meeting with 10 Best Cases Awards, Beijing 2—21 Apr 

IACC, USA Spring Conference, Washington DC, 27-29 April 

GACG Annual General Members Meeting, Washington DC, 29 April 

INTA Annual Meeting (Anti-Counterfeiting Committee, Unreal Campaign Committee etc.), Washington DC, 18-22 May 

AIPPI 150th Anniversary Meeting Brussels, 13 May 

World Anti-Counterfeiting Day (GACG) and Journee Mondiale Anti-Contrefacon UNIFAB, Paris and Worldwide, 8 June 

GAC Awards Ceremony – Presentations to Winners 2022, Paris 8 June 

ECTA Annual Conference (Anti-Counterfeiting Committee), Copenhagen, 15-17 Jun 

INDICAM Annual Forum, Milan, 20 June 

WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement, Geneva 31 Aug – 2 Sep 

QBPC with MPS ECID, China Forum on Criminal IP Enforcement. 8 Sep Xiamen 

AIPPI World Congress, San Francisco, 10-14 Sep 

Interpol IP Crime Conference Seoul, 19-21 Sep 

Marques Annual Meeting (Anti-Counterfeiting and Parallel Trade Team, Madrid, 20-23 Sep 

FICCI-CASCADE MASCRADE 2022 Delhi, 22/23 Sept 2022 

FICPI World Congress  Cannes 25-28 Sept. 

EU Observatory Plenary, Alicante, 28-29 Sep 

PTMG Annual Conference, Lisbon 5-8 Oct. 

Kestenberg, Siegal and Lipkus 25th Annual Fraud and Anti-Counterfeiting Conference, Toronto, 12-14 October 

APAA Council Meeting (Anti-Counterfeiting Committee) Busan, South Korea 15-18 Oct 

EUROPOL IPC3 Annual IP Crime Conference meeting, Rome,  27-28 October 2022 

WCO Counterfeiting and Piracy Group, Brussels tbc 

 

World Anti-Counterfeiting Day – 8 June 2022

Now in its twenty second year, was established by GACG members to enable the organisation of local, national and regional events under the umbrella of an international campaign which could focus on the particular problems of counterfeiting and piracy in the countries or regions involved.  The WAC Day events are usually held on the same day in summer each year but are individually organised by the national or regional associations themselves who may or may not take up themes suggested by the GACG or being used by other associations.  Some industry associations have also organised publicity.  In 2022, some events took place on World IP Day – 26th 

The main event in 2020 took place in Paris on 8 June – La Journée Mondiale Anti-Contrefaçon (JMAC) organised by Unifab – the French GACG member.  The theme, in keeping with the general IP Days themes for 2020 was a focus on the young and JMAC was subtitled ‘ Keeping things real to ensure a safer environment for future generations.  The Head of French Customs; the Director General of the Gendarmerie Nationale and the Director General of the French IP Office were present and spoke briefly to the audience.  There was a special intervention from Claire Castel, Head of Communications of the EU Observatory on the latest Research report on Youth Attitudes to IP Enforcement. 

Other events that took place around the world included: the release and commentary on the EU Observatory Report in Kenya (Anti-Counterfeiting Authority); Ukraine – another focus on the young and IP Enforcement (Ukraine Alliance Against Counterfeiting and Piracy); INTA – The International Trademark Association release a series of short videos from individual members on different aspects of the anti-counterfeiting campaign.  ACC – The Anti-Counterfeiting Collaboration of Nigeria also released o series of short videos the celebrate WAC Day.  The Interpol Intellectual Property Crime Investigators College held a special event (webinar) on IP Crime and Sports events.

Chairman’s Review of 2020-2021

  • Activities of the GACG and GACG Members during most of 2020 2021 have been severely curtailed due to the COVID 19 pandemic.  However, both the co-ordination office (Chairman) and many of the professional associations managed to adapt to online and virtual activities on behalf of their members and with others to make progress with the goals and objectives of the GACG in the campaign against the trade in fakes: international, regional and national.  Many, if not all the activities described below were ‘virtual’ or online events. 
  • The GACG and GACG Members co-operated fully with international, regional and national efforts to tackle the unique problems of counterfeiting of COVID related products.  Many members held their own events to discuss the challenges and to propose potential solutions as the situation developed 
  • The GACG Network continued to co-ordinate the development of its core objective of collaboration with the main International Intellectual Property Rights and IP Crime Government Organisations: The World Intellectual Property Organisation Advisory Committee on Enforcement, The World Customs Organisation Counterfeiting and Piracy Group, Interpol and Europol as well as other United Nations Agencies such as the United Nations Inter-Regional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).  GACG and GACG Members are also leading members of the EUIPO Observatory on IP Infringements and play a full part in the committees and working groups of the Observatory 
  • WIPO ACE, WCO CAP and Interpol (amongst others) held virtual conferences at which there was significant GACG GACG members’ participation; Work on various related files continued – online, with UNICRI. 
  • GACG continues to raise awareness of the international context of the impact of IPR infringements through co-ordination, promotion and exchange of best practice for anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy operations and strategy, and will re-invigorate it’s work to promote and develop new national and regional IP Enforcement groups.  GACG and GACG members joined each other to participate as appropriate with IGOs and to co-ordinate with International NGOs.  The GACG European Group continued to engage directly with EU and International institutions to tackle major issues and to pursue improvements to IPR Enforcement policy. 
  • The GACG continues to draw on the unique and specific strengths of all its individual members in organization and participation in specific events and meetings.  Despite the pandemic 2020/21 saw several virtual online conferences and meetings including training and education seminars organized by or in association with the IACC (USA), Unifab (France), QBPC (China), ACG (UK), UAACP (Ukraine) CALPYC (Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia),  FICCI-CASCADE (India) and ABAC-BAAN (Belgium). Our Regional/International member Marques (Anti-Counterfeiting and Parallel Trade Team); also organized meetings and project seminars.  Many groups organized smaller events which have not been fully reported yet. 
  • The GACG and its members continue to promote and participate in ‘World Anti-Counterfeiting Day’ activities resulting in greatly enhanced public awareness messages for all audiences but especially for consumers and young people.  Virtual  events in 2020 were held in Paris by Union des Fabricants and there were others including in Finland, Ukraine, Uruguay, and UK.  World Anti Counterfeiting Day 2021 was again held as a virtual event hosted by Unifab and several other GACG Members also organized limited events.  The Global Anti-Counterfeiting Awards were suspended in 2020 and 2021 but will be revived in 2022. 
  • Finally during this period we lost the inimitably successful work of Jose Antonio Moreno and Claudio Bergonzi Directors General of Andema, Spain and Indicam, Italy respectively.  I hope we will be able to celebrate their contributions to the GACG and the international trade in Fakes generally when we are back to ‘normal’.