Counterfeiting is in the crosshairs. BES strengthens intellectual property protection in time of war
11 April 19:28
VIDEO
National and international experts have gathered in Kyiv for a forum organized by the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES) to discuss how to effectively protect intellectual property in emergency situations. This was reported by Komersant ukrainskyi with reference to the information on the official website of the BES.
The participants include representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ukrainian Intellectual Property Office, DIIA City Union, business associations, rights holders, and even alcohol producers.
Counterfeiting in Ukraine: a map of threats
According to Oleksandr Tkachuk, Head of the BES Main Detective Unit, today’s underground production facilities are not separate workshops, but large-scale networks for the sale of counterfeit goods.
“The BES detectives uncovered 16 large-scale production facilities for counterfeit products of well-known brands in six regions. They also brought 55 criminal proceedings against more than 95 people to court. Since the beginning of the year, 17 suspects have already been served with notices of suspicion,” Tkachuk said.
The value of the seized goods is almost half a billion hryvnias. The distribution channels were online stores and wholesale markets. Sources – China and Turkey, as well as the domestic “underground”.
Institutional response: contact center and legislative initiatives
The Forum has become a platform not only for reports but also for specific initiatives. In particular, the BEB announced the creation of a new contact center for rights holders to facilitate communication and prompt response to signals about counterfeiting.
Andriy Pashchuk, Deputy Director of the BEB, emphasized that the Bureau is also working to improve legislation:
“We have already analyzed Ukrainian legislation for compliance with EU directives and see that changes are needed. We propose to set up a working group together with the Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovation to finalize criminal regulations. And it is important to revise the threshold for criminal prosecution under Article 229 of the Criminal Code.”
Tobacco industry: an initiative from business
The business community also contributed its idea. Yevhen Kuzmenko, Regulatory Affairs Manager at JTI Ukraine, suggested creating a national library of tobacco product samples. It will allow to quickly identify counterfeit products and the equipment used to produce them.
“This will be a powerful tool in the fight against the shadow market,” Kuzmenko said.
Support from business and lawyers
The Forum participants responded positively to the BES initiatives, as emphasized by Mykhailo Polyakov of Philip Morris Ukraine:
“We see progress. We see how quickly detectives respond and how effective the interaction with business has become.”
Lawyer Yevgeniy Kompanets also praised the professionalism of the BES detectives and suggested establishing cooperation with the legal community.
At the end of the event, the representatives of the Bureau called on all those present to join the newly created contact center in order to build an effective model of intellectual property rights protection in times of war.
