Recent creation of EUROPOL's Intellectual Property Crime Coordinated Coalition (IPC3)

On 12 July 2016 EUROPOL’s headquarters in The Hague witnessed the launch of the Intellectual Property Crime Coordinated Coalition (IPC3).
This organization constitutes the EU’s response to offences against intellectual property and stems from the joining of the strengths of EUROPOL and the EUIPO in this area.

The IPC3 arose out of a strategic agreement between EUROPOL and the EUIPO signed in 2013. It has been incorporated into the current structure of EUROPOL and receives financial support from the EUIPO in the amount of 500,000 euros per year.

The organization provides technical and operational support for law enforcement agencies and other partners both inside and outside the EU by:

• a) facilitating and coordinating cross-border investigations;
• b) monitoring and reporting on trends in on-line offences and watching for the appearance of new modus operandi;
• c) improving the harmonization and standardization of legal instruments and operating procedures to fight intellectual property crime globally;
• d) reaching the public and law enforcement agencies by enhancing awareness and providing training in this specific area of knowledge. 

The creation of the IPC3 is more than warranted if we consider the impact of counterfeit or pirated goods within the EU, which account for 5% of imports with a total value of 85,000 million euros. The fight against offences of this nature has to be given priority in order to provide consumers with protection against dangerous or defective products and to tackle the organized criminal networks engaging in these illicit activities which are frequently also linked to other serious forms of transnational crime (smuggling, illegal immigration, labour exploitation, tax evasion, money laundering, financing terrorist activities, etc.).

The Joint Task Force Observatory EUIPO-INTA of INTA’s EU Anti-Counterfeiting Subcommittee, of which ELZABURU forms part, had for some time been strongly advocating the setting up of a specific organization within EUROPOL to combat crime of this nature.

Author: Juan José Caselles

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