The Hellenic Industrial Property Organisation (OBI), in collaboration with the European Observatory on Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), organised a specialized seminar on “Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IP) – Support for Law Enforcement Authorities in Identifying Products that Violate Rights” in Heraklion, Crete, on December 6, 2024.
The seminar was exclusively aimed at law enforcement authorities in Crete, such as the Greek Police, Customs, the Mobile Control Units of the Hellenic Customs Authority, and the Coast Guard, with 35 participants in attendance. The goal was to enhance the work of law enforcement authorities in combating the circulation of counterfeit and pirated products.
The seminar began with a greeting from Ms. Myrto Lamprou-Mauerer, Head of International Affairs at OBI, who coordinated the seminar. She emphasized the importance of enforcing intellectual property rights for their effective protection and provided an overview of industrial property rights and the protection they offer. She also highlighted what law enforcement authorities should pay attention to when conducting inspections and presented the OBI National Register of Titles for retrieving information related to the validity of rights.
Ms. Evangelia Stavropoulou, from the European Observatory on the Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights at EUIPO, presented the services of the Observatory and the IP Enforcement Portal, a database developed to provide information to law enforcement authorities on identifying counterfeit and pirated products.
Practical issues faced by law enforcement authorities when conducting inspections and seizures of counterfeit and pirated products were discussed by Mr. Manolis Piperakis, Head of the Department for Combating Organised Crime in Crete, Mr. Periklis Katsileros, Deputy Head of the Inspection Department H’ of the General Directorate of the Financial Crime Unit, and Mr. Nikolaos Tiligadas, Inspector at the same Department, and Ms. Eleftheria Methymaki, Head of the Mobile Control Unit in Heraklion of the Hellenic Customs Authority.
Representatives from companies in Greece then conducted training on the identification of counterfeit/replica products, presenting examples from product seizures.
Mr. Manos Tavlas, Lawyer and Legal Advisor on intellectual property issues at LOUIS VUITTON MALLETIER, provided training on identifying counterfeit/replica products of the company, focusing on signs that indicate the authenticity of its products.
For tobacco products from PAPASTRATOS PHILIP MORRIS, Mr. Nikos Prentoulis, Lawyer and Partner at Prentoulis Gerakini Law Firm, spoke about authenticity checks for “conventional” cigarettes. Ms. Villy Davilla, Lawyer at Dr. Eleni Papak Konstantinou & Partners Law Firm, gave a presentation on identifying counterfeit LEGO toys. Ms. Christina Kefala, Lawyer at Malamis & Partners, presented indicators for distinguishing authentic PROCTER & GAMBLE products.
Lastly, Mr. Panagiotis Malamis, from Malamis & Partners, conducted training on alcoholic beverages, highlighting key points that law enforcement should focus on for recognizing authentic alcoholic drinks.
The seminar was supported by Ms. Georgia Sakellariou and Ms. Barbara Bouzoukou from the Legal Support Directorate of OBI.
