The Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine presented a contact center for rights holders and experts on intellectual property protection. It will operate on the basis of the department that directly deals with combating counterfeiting. This was announced by the head of the Main Detective Unit of the BEB, Oleksandr Tkachuk, during the forum "Criminal Law Protection of Intellectual Property in War Conditions", UNN reports.
According to Tkachuk, rights holders will be able to get accredited at the center online, pass verification and further interact with the Bureau's specialists in a working order.
"This step, in combination with other measures, should not only increase the level of communication, but also improve the quality of monitoring and, accordingly, the operational response to the facts of illegal trafficking of counterfeit goods," said the head of BEB detectives.
In addition, during the event, Oleksandr Tkachuk informed the audience about the results of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine in the field of intellectual property rights protection.
Today, detectives are focusing their attention on exposing underground production and sales networks of counterfeit goods. The activities of 16 large-scale productions of counterfeit products of well-known global brands in the Kyiv, Zakarpattia, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Chernivtsi and Kirovohrad regions have been documented and stopped. 55 criminal proceedings against more than 95 people have been sent to court. Since the beginning of this year alone, 17 people have been notified of suspicion. And the total estimated value of the seized counterfeit products is: more than UAH 480 million
According to the Bureau's specialists, the main sources of counterfeit products on the Ukrainian market are underground workshops, as well as smuggled goods from China and Turkey that are moved across the customs border of Ukraine. Such products are distributed mainly through wholesale markets and on-line trade. These are online stores, market places, pages on social networks, mostly Instagram.
Improving the situation will require high-quality cooperation not only with legislators and government agencies, but also with UKRNOIVI and rights holders. That is why BEB proposes to the latter to join the contact center for intellectual property protection, to create a working group with the participation of UKRNOIVI and representatives of business associations for further development of joint legislative initiatives to legal acts regulating intellectual property protection. This will help to respond quickly to the facts of illegal trafficking of counterfeit goods.
The Forum participants also considered legislative initiatives presented at the Bureau. In particular, this is the strengthening of liability under Article 229 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the establishment of criminal liability for the distribution of goods or services that violate intellectual property rights, as well as the introduction of liability for legal entities. The development of these norms will allow to harmonize Ukrainian legislation with EU legislation, which is one of the requirements for Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
The proposals of the Bureau's specialists were supported by all participants of the forum, noting the positive dynamics in the protection of intellectual property.
"We see progress in the protection of intellectual property by the BEB, we see the rapid exchange of information and are ready to support the Bureau's initiatives in every possible way," said Mykhailo Poliakov, Deputy General Director of Philip Morris Ukraine.
The event was attended by representatives of the Bureau of Economic Security, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovation, the Ukrainian Bar Association, DIIA City Union, the Association of Distributors of Ukraine, Ukrvodka Association, the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, the European Business Association, the Ukrainian Alliance Against Counterfeiting and Piracy, as well as representatives of well-known rights holders.