The counterfeiting of goods is now beyond a national boundary as a result of trade liberation development and this tendency is reinforcing, experts said at a conference on counterfeited goods in Hanoi. “Aggressive actions need to be taken at all levels to push back the proliferation of knockoffs.”
Mr Frank Fougere, French specialist in intellectual property, said: “Counterfeiting is a process of imitating a drawing, an invention, a patent and a technology, etc. to create the product without quality guaranteed to sell on the market. This is a matter of law. This phenomenon is now not limited within a narrow region or a country but it is now a worldwide problem. Counterfeit goods are quite diverse. Consumer goods such as wine, tea, detergents, fabrics, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics are most counterfeited.”
Counterfeiting appeared in Vietnam more than 20 years ago. Counterfeiting technology is now at a very high level and is operated very professionally. The production of faked goods is very well organised, they are transported across border and treated as ordinary goods under international commercial laws. The concealment is very sophisticated and difficult to be detected. Foodstuffs and drinks are also counterfeited, e.g. tuna in Thailand, Fanta soft drink, or cosmetics in many nations. In addition, European toys are found to contain lead - a hazardous substance to children’s health.
According to the European Development Cooperation Organisation, the value of knockoffs reached US$250 billion in 2009. Faked medicines accounted for 10 percent of the world’s medicine market. This organisation seized 170 containers of faked sports shoes in Hambua (Germany). Knockoffs were also fund in the Port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe. Counterfeiting is found to be very well-organised, transited ports and transported freely. In Europe, laws on counterfeiting are very strict but counterfeit goods still exist.
Mr Frank Fougere warned that counterfeit goods pose huge risk to human health. Counterfeit drugs even cause death. Counterfeit medicines account for 64.4 percent of total medicines on the market. Many counterfeit drugs have been brought into northern Vietnam. A lot of antimalarial drugs are faked. Currently, on the global level, 10 percent of drugs are counterfeit and they are mainly circulated in poor countries. Non-governmental organisations and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have acted against it but their actions are too slow and inefficient because counterfeiters use sophisticated tricks and camouflages. In rich countries, counterfeit drugs are mainly cholesterol reducers. In poor countries, counterfeit medicines are mainly antimalarials and antibiotics (70 percent of antimalarials in Cambodia are counterfeit). This means that the number of deaths caused by counterfeit drugs is on the rise.
Professor Michal Strobel, Institute for Tropical Disease Research, France, said: Counterfeiting is a very complex issue. To deal with it, we need an aggressive global and multilateral strategy. It requires involvement of the entire society.
Remarking on Vietnam - EU cooperation in the trade facilitation framework, Mr Claudio Dordi, Chief of MUTRAP III Project, affirmed that counterfeit prevention needs international cooperation. Violators must be subjected to severe punishments.
Dieu Linh
Vietnamese
