The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a proposed agreement created for the purpose of establishing international standards regarding the enforcement of intellectual property rights, sparked many controversies about the parts relating to the online counterfeiting.

The ACTA ruled that any Internet users caught downloading copyright content would be cut off from all online services. According to Eurocative, some leaked documents have also revealed that this agreement would also "force signatory countries into implementing anti file-sharing policies under the form of three-strike schemes and net filtering practices." Furthermore, some ACTA drafts have revealed that the agreement would also allow some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to introduce sanctions against those users but would inform the consumer regarding the resultant penalties.

Discussions regarding this agreement started in 2007 with formal negotiations starting from June 2008 which are still ongoing and particularly hard to implement, as it requires voluntary help from several countries. The agreement looks set to be one of the major points of discussion at a forthcoming gathering of industry professionals in early 2011.

Counterfeits online sales as well as the fake webshops will be widely discussed at the Brand Protection and Anti-Counterfeiting Interactive Forum, taking place in Copenhagen, 12-13 April 2011. The Interactive Forum will enable the participants to network, benchmark and share their ideas with the industry peers during panel discussions and round table sessions.

The key topics will include: Overcoming the online challenges to brand protection and anti-counterfeiting: global brand experts on tackling counterfeiters through e-commerce and preventing brand infringements through social media and domain name registration

Preserving your original ideas and developing your brand: ensuring your brand development doesn't fold under competition from counterfeiters and external traders during mergers and acquisitions and the early stages of development

Protecting your brand through mergers and acquisitions: Ensure that a pending business mergence doesn't threaten your brand image consumer base

Solutions to tackle counterfeiting and illicit trade: Explore the options available to target brand infringements at the source and through online management For more information please visit brandprotectionforum, call 44 (0) 2073689421 or email enquireiqpc

Source:
Pharma IQ