The Anti-Counterfeiting Group

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Internet Issues

INTERNET ISSUES

In practical terms, the biggest single issue for all of us involved in fighting IP crime is the exponential increase in the trade in fakes on the Internet.

A particular challenge is the prevalence of fake goods for sale via auction sites and wholesale sellers, posing a threat to consumers and rights holders alike. The global reach and anonymity of the Internet provides an ideal environment for criminals to operate, and the law is lagging behind the speed of online development.

Link to Fakes on the Internet flyer

Members' resources are stretched to the limit and law enforcement is still gearing up to engage in this huge challenge.

Joined-up enforcement in cyberspace is still a thing of the future. To succeed, we must adopt the same strategies which bring success to the criminals, including more resources. Yet, worryingly, SOCA's e-Crime Unit is only funded to less than half the level of the National HiTech Crime Unit it replaced in 2006, and private industry sponsorship is still being sought.

Our members would also like to see auction sites and wholesale trading sites held liable for the criminal activity of sellers on their sites. For IP crime, this could be similar to the liability already established in the UK against market owners and organisers for the sale of fakes by stallholders, and profiting from illegal transactions.

The EU Commission (DG MARKT) has set up an Internet Stakeholder Dialogue as of late March 2009. Several meetings have taken place in Brussels with brand owners and some of the main online traders such as eBay, Amazon, PriceMinister and Yahoo! with the aim of creating a code of practice for stamping out the trade in fake goods on the Internet. Several ACG Council members are participating directly in this, as the dialogue requires expert user input from rights holders.

At the moment, though, it is not clear whether existing law provides sufficient protection on the Internet for rights holders and consumers. Actions have been brought all over the world by major brand owners against eBay. Some cases have initially been decided in eBay's favour, mainly on the basis that they do enough to fight counterfeits on their sites. Some are under appeal, and some remain to be decided, especially L'Oréal's action in the High Court. We hope to review progress on all the litigation at an ACG Conference, once the various cases have finally been resolved.

For more detail, especially about eBay:
Link to ACG Internet briefing note

Another site which so far has demonstrated more care in its enforcement policies and methods is the French trading site PriceMinister, which is a fixed price site.

Link to PriceMinister site
Link to PriceMinister Press Release 2010
Link to PriceMinister Press Release 2009
Link to PriceMinister Press Release

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