Illegal use of trademarks accounts for 91.5% of intellectual property violations in EAEU

12.09.2022

Illegal use of trademarks accounts for 91.5% of intellectual property violations in EAEU

This was reported by Bakytzhan Sagintaev, Minister in charge of Economy and Financial Policy, during the meeting of the Advisory Committee for Intellectual Property. These data have been presented in the EEC annual report on the state of law enforcement practice in protecting the EAEU intellectual property rights for 2021.

"The volume of counterfeit goods detected in the EAEU in 2021 increased by 33% and amounted to about 18.2 mln units. However, the emerging trend of 2020 to reduce the volume of counterfeit goods across the EAEU as a whole has changed to an increase in 2021 due to gradual lifting of restrictions caused by the pandemic," Bakytzhan Sagintaev noted.

Besides, the meeting attendees of the Advisory Committee discussed the possibility of applying the compulsory licensing mechanism.

"This mechanism becomes particularly true given the need for providing the population of our countries with pharmaceuticals, in particular against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic," Bakytzhan Sagintaev stressed.

Furthermore, the attendees considered some issues of implementing the Agreement on trademarks, service marks and appellations of origin of the EAEU goods

dated February 3, 2020 and search services enabling to search for information about industrial property protected in the EAEU in online mode.

Given different approaches to considering the results of measures taken to detect counterfeit products in the EAEU States, the meeting attendees discussed the expediency of preparing an appropriate methodology as well.

For reference

The Advisory Committee for Intellectual Property was established on September 25, 2012. It is composed of heads and deputy heads of ministries and agencies as well as business community representatives from the EAEU States.

The Committee prepares recommendations on intellectual property for the EEC, holds consultations, formulates proposals on interacting between the EAEU States' authorized bodies, and addresses other matters.