Committee Leads Collaborative Customs Training in India - International Trademark Association

The Anticounterfeiting Committee—South Asia Subcommittee recently organized a three-part customs training session in India in collaboration with the Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), a professional body under the aegis of India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

The training sessions took place on March 3, 10, and 17, and were attended by nearly 45 customs officials from various ports in India. The sessions are aimed at strengthening cooperation between customs officials and brand owners in order to combat counterfeiting at the borders.

The sessions followed trainings INTA held in India at the end of 2019, involving Bangladesh and Sri Lanka Customs.

CIPAM’s Assistant Vice President, Pearl Sobti, opened the March 3 session, followed by speakers Rajesh Kumar of the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics (NACIN), and Mohamed Ashraf Samsudeen of Sri Lanka Customs.

Mr. Samsudeen shared the procedures his office follows to combat counterfeiting at the border and encouraged cross-border collaboration and sharing of best practices toward achieving a common goal of curbing counterfeiting. Subsequently, representatives of Glaxo SmithKline, Google LLC, Novartis International AG, and Procter & Gamble conducted brand identification trainings.

In the second session, representatives from Anand and Anand, Beiersdorf, and United IPR presented best practices in sharing information between companies and customs officers to assist officials in identifying and taking action against counterfeit consignments. Representatives from Johnson and Johnson, The Lego Group, Wahl, and Western Digital provided brand identification trainings.

The final discussion in the series focused on the destruction of counterfeit goods seized by customs officials in order to remove these goods from the commercial stream. Representatives of Hindustan Lever, Phillip Morris International, and Under Amour discussed this issue. Brand identification trainings followed, conducted by luxury brands Bulgari, Ferragamo, and Wella.

The South Asia Subcommittee intends to continue collaboration with CIPAM and NACIN, in addition to planning engagement with other offices in the region, such as Sri Lanka Customs and Bangladesh Customs.

For more information on the Anticounterfeiting Committee’s activities in South Asia or to get involved in future events, please contact INTA’s Anticounterfeiting Advisor, Tiffany Pho.

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this article, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.