Protecting IP at the border
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Two years before the envisaged date of Romania’s accession to the EU, the Strategy Paper of the European Commission on progress in the enlargement process of 2004 made it clear that “particular attention should be paid to the effective enforcement of industrial and intellectual property rights, in particular through strengthening border controls and improving co-ordination between the law enforcement bodies…. Romania has continued to make progress in transposing the company law acquis as such and the acquis concerning the protection of intellectual and industrial property rights. However, the level of enforcement of such rights has not kept pace with this”. The International Intellectual Property Association, when issuing its yearly report, recommended that Romania remain on the Watch List in 2005: “Poor enforcement remains an ongoing problem resulting in high piracy levels in Romania. Optical disc piracy is widespread; pirated products enter from Russia and the Far East, often via the Ukraine border, and are subsequently found in all major cities. CD-R piracy is growing rapidly and is controlled by organized criminal groups…. Romanian anti-piracy efforts are often uncoordinated and a low priority for the police, prosecutors, and courts. For years the Romanian government has pledged to raise the level of commitment for criminal cases to target large-scale operations and impose deterrent penalties. Instead, the police conduct raids, but largely against small targets, and prosecutors often refuse to follow through with indictments or fail to press for deterrent sentences in those cases they do decide to prosecute.” For most Romanian practitioners directly involved in the enforcement of IP rights, these facts do not come as a big surprise. Romania’s persistent problem in the IP field remains poor enforcement and the Commission’s Reports and the IIPA’s considerations should be a clear signal to all persons and authorities in charge that this poor enforcement is leading to counterfeit goods flooding Romania. This article will summarize the existing Romanian IP legislation framework, emphasizing the laws enacted on border measures, and will provide the latest news on the recent and future approach of the Romanian authorities to legislation on border measures. Current legislative approach With over 120 years of history, of which 50 years was dominated by a communist philosophy of common property (in which the communist state assumed the triple role of creator, entrepreneur and enforcer), followed by the past 15 years of reforms and restructuring, we can now claim that the changes in the IP framework in Romania are finally coming to an end. The Romanian IP legislative framework is fully compliant with TRIPs, all the… |