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ECTA


and the European Commission, together with other associations. We all tried to explain the importance of IP, especially in the contexts of the crisis. We do believe that ‘a common voice is better heard’ and we appreciate working with our sister associations. On the other hand, in 2012 we continued to build ECTA as brand, known for its quality and diversity.


Te revision of the Customs Regulation was another challenge for ECTA in 2012. Aſter many months of negotiations between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council, the final proposal was published. ECTA’s suggestions were partially taken into consideration in the revision of the text. For instance, the new regulation


applies


to an enlarged assembly of goods and IP rights and extends protection to holders of rights in trade names, semiconductor topographies, utility models and technology circumvention devices.


Further, the new regulation establishes a procedure enabling a rights holder to apply


for the destruction of small consignments of postulate,


allegedly counterfeit or pirated non-perishable goods, without having to undergo formal legal proceedings. Following ECTA’s the notion


of “small


consignments” was defined as a postal or express courier consignment that contains three units or less, or has a gross weight of less than two kilograms. Concretely,


for rights holders the new regulation also clarifies that, among other things, they may use information concerning the consignor and consignee provided by Customs, not just to initiate civil infringement proceedings or to obtain consent for destruction, but also as a basis for criminal proceedings and to seek compensation. Te new regulation responds to


the recent


significant increase in counterfeit


trade in small consignments that are purchased via e-commerce platforms operating outside the jurisdictional reach of EU rights holders.


In 2012 a new trend called ‘standardised packaging’ of unhealthy products entered the IP world. Australia was the first country to cross the line with the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act, which officially came into force at


the beginning of


December 2012, and significantly limits the use of brands on packs. According to legal measures all figurative trademarks, logos, colours, or a combination of them, is prohibited on cigarette packs. Te manufacturer is allowed to print only brand and product names on the pack, together with the quantity of the product, health warnings and other mandatory information, such as a list of ingredients. Te reasoning behind this is that by making the package less attractive, young people in particular will be discouraged from starting to smoke and it will possibly also discourage existing smokers from continuing.


Australia might be far away, but plain packaging knocked on European doors in December with the publication of the European Commission’s revised proposal for the Tobacco Directive. It should be clear that the defence of the free use of brands must not be confused with the promotion of the product itself. Tis distinction is fundamental. In this context, ECTA’s mission has been particularly challenging. Aſter the publication of the proposal, ECTA together with other associations submitted a joint statement to Michel Barnier, Commissioner for Internal Market and Services. Currently, the proposal is with the European Parliament, therefore the matter of standardised packaging will remain one of the top priorities for ECTA in 2013.


2012 was also the year of ‘visibility’ for ECTA. We decided to open our association to new experiences and new possibilities. We are the first IP association to become an official partner of the European IPR Helpdesk, which is an official service supervised by the European Commission and destined to promote the use of IP rights to European enterprises. European small and


www.worldipreview.com


World Intellectual Property Review e-Digest 2013


17


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