Specialised Seminar on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights: Support for Law Enforcement Authorities in Recognising Products That Violate Rights. Ioannina, November 24, 2023
The Hellenic Industrial Property Organisation (OBI), in cooperation with the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), organised a specialised seminar on the topic “Enforcement of Intellectual Property (IP) rights – Support for Law Enforcement Authorities in Recognising Products That Violate rights,” in Ioannina on November 24, 2023.
The seminar was aimed exclusively at law enforcement authorities in Epirus and Western Greece, such as the Hellenic Police, Customs, and the Mobile Control Units of the Greek Financial and Customs Authority and was attended by 65 participants.
The goal was to enhance the work of law enforcement agencies in combating the circulation of counterfeit/imitative products and to inform them about databases providing information for the identification of counterfeit/imitative products.
A greeting on behalf of OBI was given by Mrs. Myrto Lamprou-Mauer, Head of International Affairs at OBI, who coordinated the seminar. She emphasised the importance of enforcing intellectual property rights for their effective protection and thanked the speakers, assuring that new seminars for law enforcement agencies would be organised.
Mrs. Evangelia Stavropoulou, from the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights at EUIPO, presented the Observatory’s services and provided training on the IP Enforcement Portal Database, developed by the Observatory to provide information to law enforcement authorities on recognising counterfeit and imitative products.
From OBI, Mrs. Myrto Lamprou-Mauer informed attendees about the protection provided by industrial property rights, highlighting what law enforcement authorities should look for during inspections. She also presented the National Patent Register at OBI for retrieving information about the validity of rights.
From the Mobile Control Unit of Igoumenitsa of ELYT, Mr. Christos Evaggelidis, Deputy Head, discussed practical issues faced by customs and inspection authorities during checks and seizures of counterfeit and imitative products.
Dr. Petroula Tarandili, Head of the Chemical Service of Central Macedonia at the General Directorate of the General Chemical State Laboratory of AADE, presented the benefits of cooperation between authorities in combating the illegal trade of alcoholic beverages and shared her experience with the authority from alcohol inspections.
Subsequently, representatives of companies in Greece conducted training on recognising imitative/counterfeit products, presenting examples from product seizures.
From the company LOUIS VUITTON MALLETIER, Mr. Manos Tavlas, Lawyer, Legal Advisor on Intellectual Property matters, conducted training on recognising counterfeit/imitative products of the company, referring to the indicators that indicate the authenticity of their products.
For electronics, the company SAMSUNG was represented by Mr. Michalis Kosmopoulos, Lawyer and Partner at the law firm Drakopoulos, who presented the distinguishing features of Samsung’s authentic products.
Finally, for alcoholic beverages, the company ALLIANCE AGAINST COUNTERFEIT SPIRITS AACS was represented by Mrs. Christina Kefala, Lawyer at the office of Malamis & Partners, who highlighted the points on which inspections should focus to recognise authentic products.
