New legal provisions in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy entered into force on 1st July. Henceforth, the import of products in violation of trademarks and designs is prohibited in Switzerland, even for private use. At border check points, customs officials can confiscate and destroy counterfeit products, including those not intended for commercial use and regardless of their number. People purchasing counterfeit watches, fashion articles, handbags, etc, are therefore at risk of a nasty shock when the said items enter Swiss territory.

To coincide with the entry into force of these new legal provisions, the Swiss anti-counterfeiting platform Stop Piracy, the Central Bureau for the control of precious metals (customs), the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) and the Swiss Anti-Piracy Association (SAFE) conducted a joint operation to destroy counterfeit watches and pirated DVDs. This action, carried out by a specialist recycling company in Cressier (FR), resulted in the destruction of 28,427 counterfeit watches and 4,130 pirated DVDs originating from seizures made over the last four years by the Federal Customs Administration. The reprocessing of waste produced by this operation was carried out in accordance with environmental protection guidelines.

These new legal provisions had become necessary in Switzerland due to the fact that Swiss consumers, too, are contributing to the expansion of the international fake goods industry. By obtaining counterfeit products while on holiday abroad or by placing online orders from the comfort of their own homes, they are supporting organised crime, more often than not without even realising it.

The actions by Stop Piracy are intended to raise awareness among consumers of the problem of fake goods and to protect them from unpleasant surprises at the time goods are imported into Switzerland.

Counterfeiting and piracy cause severe damage to the Swiss economy. The loss is estimated at two billion Swiss francs per annum. World trade in counterfeit and pirated products was estimated to total $200 billion in 2007 according to a study by the OECD which did not take into account trade conducted on the Internet. This represents around half of Switzerland’s gross domestic product.

Courtesy: Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH, Switzerland

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Posted by Jigar Gondalia on 5 July, 2008 3:50:35 PM IST #