First Debate Conference for a comprehensive action against counterfeiting

Commitment to the Industrial Property Rights Observance

The First Debate Conference for a comprehensive action against counterfeiting held in Spain took place past April 9th and 10th at the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) headquarters. The conference is part of the clear and continuous commitment to the Industrial Property Rights Observance of the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, as demonstrate the meeting of the Committee against Professional Intrusion held on December 4th 2018, the Meeting of the Inter-sectorial Commission against IP rights infringement on December 10th 2018 or the subsequent meetings that the three working groups of this Commission held in January 2019.

The Julio Delicado Room, that holds one hundred people, was filled with the staff of the Spanish Security Forces and Bodies, the Assistant Management of Customs Surveillance and the members of the Inter-sectorial Commission against IP rights infringement Working Groups. For this reason and to give others the possibility of attending the Conference, it was live-streamed (simultaneously recorded and broadcasted in real time) at the SPTO website. Among the speakers we would like to highlight the presence of two Judges, as well as some representatives of the Spanish National Police, the Spanish Civil Guard, the Spanish Ministry of Home Affairs and the Assistant Management of Customs Surveillance, together with the staff of the SPTO. The closing ceremony was in charge of the SPTO Director.

The two-day meeting consisted of a series of talks and debates aimed to share experiences and improve the IP rights Observance. The importance of the public-private partnership was one of the underlined topics of the Conference. In this regard the following subjects were analyzed: the current situation of IP rights infringement, the different types of IP rights, the public databases where these rights can be found, the proceeding and jurisprudence aspects (specially the activity of the ORGA), the most outstanding infringements of IP rights registered recently in Spain, the methodology and usefulness of statistics for IP rights Observance, or the way a correct police inspection of counterfeit seized products should be done. Both days ended with a round table to debate the existing challenges and the improvable points on IP rights Observance. The first round table was focused on the private sector which was represented by ANDEMA, Osborne and Salvador Orlando Lawyers (who talked about the experience of his client Real Madrid). The second one, was centred on the public sector and was formed by representatives of the Spanish National Police, the Spanish Civil Guard, the Spanish Ministry of Home Affairs and the Assistant Management of Customs Surveillance.

We would like to highlight as the main conclusion of the Conference that all the speakers considered the coordination and cooperation between Public Administrations and other actors involved in IP rights Observance vital. In addition, the attendees concluded that even though the existing legal system is necessary for the pursuit and sentence of these infringements, there is still an improving margin, specially in the procedural field, in order to apply the measures foreseen by law quickly and make the holder of the infringed right free from bearing expenses such as the seized goods storage. As well, they agreed that a continuous training and awareness-raising, not just focused on the Security Forces and Bodies, but also on the Spanish population and tourists who visit our country (because they could be consumers of counterfeit products) is necessary. Finally, we would like to emphasize the good reception that the new advances on Observance had, for instance the use of statistics for the geolocation of IP rights infringements in order to be ahead of them.