World Anti-Counterfeiting Day, now in its twentieth year, was held on June 6th by the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group (GACG) with a goal to sharing best practices and information among its network of national and regional IPR enforcement and protection organizations that cover more than fifty countries. Among GACG’s members are: the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC) representing the United States; the Finnish Anti-Counterfeiting Group; and France’s Union De Fabricants.
One member, the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO, marked the occasion by releasing a report: “2019 Status Reports on IPR Infringement.” The document estimates the international trade in fake products at 121 billion Euros a year [roughly $136 billion] with a loss of 468,000 jobs.
Through its Observatory and its international associates, EUIPO is now funding a specialized crime unit within the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) to help tackle the counterfeiting problem.