WASHINGTON (PRWEB) April 30, 2018
Tim Trainer, co-author, announces the publication of the 2018 edition of Customs Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights. “Companies and governments around the world need to be better informed about the role of customs agencies in combating the international trade in counterfeit and pirated goods,” Trainer says. The book is a Thomson Reuters publication (http://legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/law-products/).
The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) released an annual report on Friday, April 27th, in which it identified nineteen countries whose customs agencies have deficiencies in intellectual property protection. The deficiencies may be a lack of resources, inadequate legal powers, poor implementation of existing law or other shortcomings. Regardless of these shortcomings, USTR underscored the need for improvement. In total, USTR’s report identified thirty-six countries whose IP systems have adverse consequences on U.S. interests.
When customs agencies either lack authority or fail to effectively exercise existing authority, the trade in goods that infringe intellectual property is facilitated. Today’s illegal trade involves unimaginable items that pose public health and safety risks to consumers. In the U.S. alone, counterfeit auto airbags, contact lenses and cosmetics have been seized.
“A partnership critical to any success in fighting this illicit trade is the one between the intellectual property owner and the national customs agency. In our comprehensive book, we cover U.S. laws and regulations as well as international agreements and trends,” Trainer explains. “Despite the media coverage about counterfeit and pirated products, far too many companies that own intellectual property are failing to appreciate the role that national customs administrations fulfill in preventing the import or export of infringing goods.”
“To have any effect on this illicit trade, the intellectual property owner should engage actively with customs agencies, providing information and training customs officers,” Trainer adds. “There’s no doubt that the internet raises new challenges for companies, customs and those in logistics. Success requires significant effort.”
Customs Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights is a comprehensive book that identifies issues that companies should be aware of and examines ways to structure customs agencies to combat intellectual property infringement.