Workshop lasting for two days in the framework of the EMPACT project of the European Union Intellectual Property Office – EUIPO was held in the Intellectual Property Office during December 6 and 7, 2023.
EUIPO, in the course of the previous year, elaborated Manual for the conducting of investigation of criminal works in the field of intellectual property in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats – EMPACT.
The workshop has international character and it has been held for the employees of institutions for the enforcement of intellectual property rights, including prosecutors, employees of the police, customs inspectorate and other bodies for whom the Manual is written. EMPACT is the important instrument of the EU for fighting against organized crime, and the Council of Europe in 2021 identified crime in the field of intellectual property as one of the major threats in the European Union.
The criminal works in the field of intellectual property rights refer to the production and distribution of counterfeited products in the material form that infringe most frequently the trademark rights, but also other intellectual property rights. Because of the rapid development of technology, the criminal acts against intellectual property all the more frequently take place at the internet or with the help of the internet. Unauthorized multiplication, distribution and public communication of copyright protected works and subject matter of related rights take place in the online environment, by means of various platforms, social networks as well as by the means of the closed online groups with the difficult access.
In the manual intended for the bodies for the enforcement of rights, strategies of investigation actions are intended for the identification of the criminal actions offender and the securing of evidence for the starting of criminal procedure. There you may find the case studies from the EU countries but also states out of the EU, including Serbia.
Experts in this field, Erling Vestergaard from the EUIPO, Kenny Wright and John Zacharia from UNICRI (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute) presented the manual. The representatives of the bodies for the enforcement of rights and the holders of rights from various countries presented their strategies for collecting evidence about the criminal actions in the field of intellectual property.
The representatives of bodies for the enforcement from nine countries (Bulgaria, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Romania, Serbia, Spain, United Kingdom), the representatives of the private sector, as well as the representatives from EUROPOL, EUROJUST, UNICRI and EUIPO, had the opportunity to use the workshop to exchange the experiences in their work on the various criminal cases connected to the intellectual property rights and fraudulent offences.