The 20th Meeting of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Counterfeiting and Piracy (CAP) Group, organized in a hybrid format, was held on 21 and 22 November 2023. At the meeting, delegates elected Mrs Oumou Keita Traore of Mali Customs, as Chairperson for the meeting and Mrs Maria Manuela Loureiro Manta of Portugal Customs as Vice-Chairperson.
More than 300 delegates from WCO Member administrations and Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs), as well as representatives from international organizations and the private sector, registered for the meeting.
In his opening remarks delivered in a video recording, Pranab Kumar Das, Director for Compliance and Facilitation, welcomed the momentum and engagement within the WCO CAP Group and applauded Members for both their participation in the regional workshops and their support for the awareness-raising campaign conducted by the Secretariat with a view to promoting the removal of counterfeit products from e-commerce platforms.
The meeting continued in the form of a closed session for Members and observers, while representatives of the private sector, including rights holders, were invited to attend a joint session.
The Secretariat reported to delegates on the activities that had been carried out since the last meeting of the Group, as well as the approach adopted in making available accredited IPR experts to promote knowledge-sharing with the younger generation.
In addition, delegates endorsed the WCO CAP Group’s Work Programme 2024-2025 and discussed a number of topics, namely: (i) efforts to tackle illicit online pharmacies through closer cooperation between Customs and the private sector; (ii) work towards improving the interoperability of data exchange systems with private-sector partners through the IPR CENcomm platform; (iii) more active involvement by Customs in the fight against counterfeit pesticides; (iv) the latest trends in the threat posed by the counterfeiting of toys and games; and, finally, (v) the communication strategy to raise consumer awareness of the dangers of counterfeiting and piracy.
The WCO CAP Group was established in 2009 to serve as a forum for Customs administrations to share their experiences, practices and initiatives on border measures to be adopted in respect of goods that infringe intellectual property rights (IPRs) and/or are detrimental to consumer health.
Bringing the meeting to a close, the Chairperson Mrs Keita Traore thanked the delegates for the quality of the discussions and their commitment to supporting the Secretariat’s activities in connection with the WCO IPR, Health and Safety Programme.
For more information, please contact us at: IPRteam@wcooomd.org.