Counterfeit Crime: L’Oreal Case Sparks European Commission Rethink

LONDON, October 12, 2011 -

Legal IQ just released a podcast interview with Guido Baumgartner, Vice-President for Global Brand Protection at Coty Inc.

In this comprehensive interview, Guido discusses new strategies on Regulating Brand Protection and Anti-Counterfeiting with in-depth discussion on the sale of counterfeit goods via the internet.

Identifying the extent of the problem, Baumgartner says: “When you find a big infringer on the internet with a lot of sales going on, your problem is - who’s done it? So we play Cluedo; who is behind the mask? Since the internet is global, you also then have the challenge that you can chase people around the world while they play hide-and-seek with you, putting forward straw man arguments within jurisdictions where you already don’t have good court systems.”

Discussing the recent L’Oreal court case ECJ decision, touted as a landmark case as it was the first of its kind to acknowledge that the responsibility for action lay with the online sales platform, in this case eBay, Guido says: “The problem is now it has to come to the local national courts and it has to be used by them. The European Commission is looking at the enforcement directive and there was a study in saying, yes, the challenges of the internet are not yet really met and something has to be done about it. The problem is what to do.”

Finally Baumgartner suggests three action points for brand owners:

1. Engaging test purchase agencies and detectives in real-world searches;

2. Appling software to search the internet;

3. Never losing your passion to continue.

Guido Baumgartner will be among the speakers at the Legal IQ’s Brand Protection & Anti-Counterfeiting Summit 2011 this November in the Netherlands.

Also present at the conference will be:

• Richard Halverson, Head of Supply Chain Tracking & Verification, British American Tobacco
• Daniel Hubert, Unit Chief, National IPR Coordination Centre, US Department of Homeland Security
• Meena Sayal, Director, Group Brand Protection, Unilever
• Petra van Beneden, Head of Licensing and Compliance, Adobe
• Matt Drew, Security Investigations Manager, EMEA, Hewlett-Packard
• Sue Currie, Senior Legal Counsel, TNT
• Diane Hamer, Trademark Lawyer, BBC
• Martin Sutton, Group Fraud Risk and Intelligence Manager, HSBC

For the full agenda and updated speaker line-up, visit the website: www.brandprotectionevent.com/news, email enquire@iqpc.co.uk or call +44(0)207-368-9300

Media contact:

Joanna Checinska

www.brandprotectionevent.com/news

Press are invited to attend this important industry forum, if you would like to a complimentary press pass please email Joanna Checinska on joanna.checinska@iqpc.co.uk

Access the interview on www.brandprotectionevent.com/podcast

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