Fake goods import rule under fire

Date: 25/06/1998

By Peter Chapman

THE makers of many of Europe's favourite branded goods are calling for changes to EU counterfeiting rules to allow member states to block low-level personal imports of fakes.

Existing counterfeit regulations allow European holidaymakers and business travellers to import goods such as fake compact discs, copy Rolex watches and imitation Armani designer-label T-shirts below a 175-ecu limit. This allows customs officers to devote more time to catching commercial traffickers.

But the European Brands Association (AIM), which represents national marketing and branded product associations and big-name companies such as Unilever and Lego, wants member states to be given the right to scrap this loophole when the 1994 counterfeit rules are updated later this year.

Philip Sheppard, AIM's branding and marketing affairs manager, said this would be a 'pragmatic step forward' in the fight against piracy.

It would give member states with a tough stance on counterfeit goods, such as France, the right to ignore the 175-ecu limit without risking EU court action, and pave the way for more customs raids on travellers' luggage at Union ports and airports.

Sheppard said industry would prefer an outright ban on travellers importing pirated goods into the Union, but recognised that such a proposal would stand little chance of being adopted.

His organisation argues that the reputation of branded goods such as Rolex watches is eroded as countless fakes enter the EU on tourists' wrists. At the same time, commercial traffickers are hiding behind the limit to continue their business relatively unhampered. "We believe allowing the 175-ecu limit sends out the wrong signals. It is like saying a little bit of crime is OK," said Sheppard.

AIM claims that it has already won support for its proposal from key MEPs on the Parliament's external economic relations committee.

But European Commission officials say they see little reason to change the personal import rules when the update is finalised in the autumn.

"It is not that we do not acknowledge the existence of small-scale trafficking, but we think customs officers have other things to do," said one Commission source, who added that customs officers were free to step in if they believed fake goods were being imported for 'commercial' reasons, even if they were worth less than 175 ecu.

Instead, the Commission is urging member states to publicise the existing rules more widely and raise awareness of them. It does, however, want to extend the regulations to include patented inventions, and offer holders of EU 'community trade marks' a single procedure for applying for customs protection. This would enable them to obtain support for all their patented goods on payment of a single fee.