A group of 14 IP and anti-counterfeiting member associations has issued a joint statement urging the inclusion of IP crime as a priority in the next policy cycle of the EU Commission’s security initiative ‘European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats’ (EMPACT).

EMPACT is driven by EU member states to identify, prioritise and address threats posed by organised and serious international crime. The coalition is calling on all member states to ensure that IP crime is retained as a priority for the EU’s next EMPACT cycle from 2026 to 2029. The framework runs in four-year cycles with the next scheduled to end in December next year.

The coalition includes organisations like the International Trademark Association (INTA), the Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG) and AIM – the European Brands Association, representing 2,500 rights owners including SMEs and start-ups across many industry sectors in Europe.

The coalition wants to continue to build on the success of tackling IP crime within EMPACT. It says the latest EMPACT results for 2023 showed a “growing momentum of success by law enforcement”, with 1,406 IP crime investigations launched between 2022 and 2023 with 1,096 arrests and more than 1,200 judicial cases filed. “But this tireless work is not and will never be finished,” it adds.

The statement states that with the continuing challenges posed by new technologies, increasing use of social media, closed group messaging and cryptocurrencies by counterfeiters and criminals, there is an ever increasing need to tackle IP crime in a robust and coordinated manner under the EMPACT framework.

Etienne Sanz De Acedo, CEO of INTA, said that the inclusion of IP crime as an EMPACT priority for the next policy cycle would “signal to counterfeiters everywhere that Europe is committed to taking decisive action to protect intellectual property rights and uphold the integrity of global markets”.

Another one of the signatories, Phil Lewis, director general at the ACG, said that the EU’s EMPACT structure is globally acknowledged, as it “brings together the assessment of threats from 27 different countries. It has an international influence on guidance, assessment and planning to combat serious and organised crime threats”.

Recent studies by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), Europol and the European Commission have revealed substantial economic losses and job reductions in key sectors such as clothing, cosmetics and toys due to counterfeiting.

The November 2024 joint report by the EUIPO and the European Commission revealed that detentions of counterfeit goods in the EU have reached new heights, with law enforcement authorities detaining 152 million fake articles in 2023, a 77% increase from the previous year.

EMPACT is a multidisciplinary cooperation platform of member states, supported by EU institutions, bodies and agencies such as Europol, border control operation Frontex and the EU agency for criminal justice cooperation, Eurojust. Third countries, international organisations and other public and private partners are also associated.

Other members of the coalition that have signed the joint statement include UNIFAB, the French association for the promotion and protection of intellectual property rights, Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group, Ukraine Alliance Against Counterfeiting and Piracy, and the Asian Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy (ACACAP).

In October, the Global Legal Post launched the second edition of the Law Over Borders comparative guide to Anti-counterfeiting.

In November, the Global Legal Post also hosted a one-day event, the Anti-Counterfeiting World Law Summit that gathered together leading brands, law enforcement and online platforms to share best practice in tackling counterfeits.