Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-07-02-Speech-1-102-000"
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"en.20120702.19.1-102-000"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the protection of intellectual property rights is of life and death importance to the European economy. Increasingly frequent infringements of rights and the constantly increasing trade in rights-infringing products threaten the growth of our economy and, with it, also jobs. Counterfeit products damage not only the industry affected, but can also represent a serious threat to the health and safety of consumers. This is often forgotten when this matter is discussed.
c) The biggest improvement is to be found in the reversal of the burden of proof in the case of transiting goods. I will go into that again later in my summing up.
The customs authorities at the EU’s external borders are in a comparatively favourable position to retain rights-infringing products before they reach the internal market. That is why it is so important that this regulation should be adapted to meet the new challenges of our times. The Commission has recognised the need for action and produced a sound proposal last year in which it extended the scope of the regulation, increased legal certainty for transiting goods, and put forward a special procedure for small consignments in view of the burgeoning online trade in counterfeit products.
In my view, however, there is still considerable potential to further improve the conditions for the affected actors. I am referring, in this regard in particular, to the customs authorities, rights holders and consumers. With my report, I pursued four goals; namely, increasing protection for consumers, relieving the burden on customs authorities, strengthening the position of rights holders and observing data protection.
With regard to the first objective, in contrast to the oft-cited view, the enforcement of intellectual property rights is in the interests of consumers more than anyone. This is because counterfeit products generally do not meet the statutory requirements and are generally not subject to any quality control. As a result, these products often endanger the health and safety of consumers. During our committee’s consultation, we were shown horrific pictures of consumers seriously disfigured after using counterfeit toiletries. It is not going too far to say that counterfeit products can even put people’s lives at risk. By way of example, one German carmaker brought to my attention the deadly risk that counterfeit braking systems entail.
With regard to the second objective, the customs authorities can only effectively enforce the various intellectual property rights if they can quickly and efficiently instigate proceedings. We therefore put forward a series of proposals in order to ease the work of the customs authorities. In principle, a procedure to destroy the goods and launch proceedings that is as standardised and simplified as possible should be used for all cases of infringed rights. The procedure proposed by our committee makes it possible to destroy products without a court having to determine an infringement of rights, provided that the rights holder confirms the infringement and – a very important detail – that neither the party reporting the infringement nor the holder of the goods objects. This ensures the protection of rights and a procedure in accordance with the rule of law.
Moreover, the special procedure for small consignments makes it easier to destroy goods, as the customs authority no longer needs to contact the rights holder in each individual case. This is of benefit both to the customs authorities and the rights holders. The conditions for information exchange between customs authorities in the Union and the competent authorities in third countries should also be improved. That will make it possible to prevent the production and sale of counterfeit goods closer to the source.
With regard to the third objective, with the new regulation, we are also aiming to strengthen the rights of the holders of intellectual property rights. It is they, after all, who generate significant growth and jobs in Europe through their innovations. If we Europeans want to continue to be competitive, we need to promote innovation by effectively enforcing intellectual property rights. We have a series of proposals to that end:
a) Rights holders are to be given better access to information about goods seized
b) They may also use this information to determine the identity of the rights holder, both in connection with criminal proceedings and out-of-court settlements."@en1
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