Responsibilities

• The WCO strategy

At the June 2006 Council sessions, Members of the WCO recognized that Customs administrations had a major role to play in IPR protection, and every effort should be made in that regard. Pragmatically, the WCO needed to offer a tangible response giving practical effect to Customs’ position as leader in the field of anti-counterfeiting activities. Therefore it was proposed to create a set of standards which would deal with enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) by Members.

The resulting tool, known as S.E.C.U.R.E. (provisional Standards to be Employed by Customs for Uniform Rights Enforcement) has been devised by the WCO in order to better co-ordinate Customs’ worldwide efforts to interdict and disrupt the illicit trade in IPR-infringing goods. It includes provisional standards, procedures and best practices that will prove effective in a co-ordinated global effort to suppress all kind of intellectual property rights infringements.

In the fight against counterfeiting and piracy, Member Customs administration will make use of and improve existing WCO tools such as the:

- WCO Model IPR Legislation

- WCO Risk Management Guidelines for more effective controls

- IPR Diagnostic Survey

- WCO IPR e-learning module

- Proposals aimed at strengthening co-operation with the private sector,

- Working methods tailored to suit the specific nature of anti-counterfeiting activities.

- Customs Enforcement Network (CEN) and its communication tools

• Innovative initiatives

The WCO plan provides for the publication of an annual statistical report identifying the main trends and enhanced training on the legislative aspects; it also incorporates the CEN (Customs Enforcement Network), risk analysis, workshops on how to detect counterfeits, and the e-learning modules. A diagnostic tool on capacity building needs will be made available to Members; it will cover the legislative aspects, enforcement, statistics and data transmission.

Finally, where international co-operation is concerned the WCO is strengthening its partnership with WIPO, Interpol, OECD, the European Commission, WHO, WTO and the Council of Europe in order to avoid duplication and ensure that the efforts of all the stakeholders’ come together in pursuit of a collective cause – the fight against counterfeiting and piracy – which lies at the heart of the economic, commercial and social preoccupations of States.