From 5 to 31 June 2022, the World Customs Organization (WCO) carried out Operation SEASCAPE 2 for the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) in the WCO’s Americas and Caribbean region. The operation was made possible thanks to the financial support provided by the Customs Cooperation Fund of Japan (CCF Japan). Six Customs administrations in the region – those of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Panama and Peru – took part in the operation.

While the main aim of the operation was to intercept counterfeit and pirated goods, particular focus was given during the operation to all goods transported by land, sea or air which could potentially pose a threat to consumer health and safety.

The operation resulted in 226 seizures, totalling over 10 million counterfeit pieces, broken down into 16 categories of goods, including: face masks, hand tools, ball bearings, sporting goods, mobile phones, tobacco, games and toys.

Welcoming the efforts made by National Contact Points (NCPs) during the operation, the WCO Secretary General, Mr. Kunio Mikuriya, stated that, “Given the results of Operation SEASCAPE 2, we no longer need to prove the usefulness of our IPR CENcomm secure communication platform for exchanging information between participants.” He went on to say that, “Although the IPR CENcomm Library already allows Members to gain easy access to documents provided by rights holders, its interoperability with the private sector, which is one of the main pillars of the WCO IPR Strategy 2020, should be taken into account, as this would help increase the effectiveness of the CENcomm platform during operations.”

Some 30 Customs officers and representatives from the WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs) for Central America and South America and from the Joint Intelligence Office (JIO) Caribbean attended a workshop, held in preparation for the operation with a view to sharing good practices, in particular regarding risk management techniques. On the second day of the workshop, no fewer than 18 rights holders presented the key features of their branded products so as to provide Customs officers with an opportunity to refine their detection techniques at borders.

The WCO Secretariat will continue to work closely with its Members and all stakeholders to curb IPR infringement around the world.

For more information on Operation SEASCAPE 2, please contact: iprteam@wcoomd.org.