ICC Says Proposed Australian Plain Packaging Regulation 'Bad Public Policy'

PARIS, May 27, 2011 -

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) today called on the
Australian government to reject proposed regulations requiring tobacco
product packaging to be stripped of trademarks and product designs
differentiating one brand from another.

Responding to the release of draft legislation requiring tobacco products
to be sold in "plain packaging," ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier said,
in a letter to Australian Trade Minister Craig Emerson, that the proposal
creates a dangerous precedent that could have far-reaching impacts on the use
of trademarks and other intellectual property in Australia and globally.

"Our members strongly support the protection of public health, and we are
not questioning the adverse consequences of long-term tobacco use or the
government's role in reducing tobacco use," said Jeffrey Hardy, Coordinator
of ICC's Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP)
initiative. "However, the solution being proposed is simply wrong and bad
public policy. We urge the Australian government to consider policy
alternatives to the 'plain packaging' proposal, that would further the
government's health policy goals without creating a dangerous precedent with
negative consequences that go far beyond the aims of the new rules."

Restricting trademarks and branding of products removes a valuable
accountability and responsibility mechanism that consumers depend on to make
the best choices in the marketplace, according to ICC.

"Plain packaging makes it easier for packaging to be copied by
counterfeiters, exposing consumers to products with unknown and potentially
dangerous ingredients, and it makes it more difficult for consumers to
identify the manufacturer responsible for responding to complaints or
problems," Mr Hardy said. "It also would reduce the brand owners' ability to
take action against counterfeiters, and increase burdens on already
overstretched public agencies working to enforce intellectual property
protections in the face of escalating counterfeiting and piracy throughout
Australia and worldwide."

"The ability of brand owners to market their product in unique and easily
identifiable ways is a core element of a developed society's protection of
intellectual property rights," Mr Hardy said. "Removing one industry's
ability to use its intellectual property rights opens the door to extend this
violation of IP rights to other industries and other brand owners in
Australia and around the world."

Several governments have previously considered and rejected plain
packaging as a solution to controlling tobacco use. There has been no
research and no data to support plain packaging as a deterrent to smoking.

"The proposed regulations undermine the Australian government's goals of
fostering and encouraging the growth of markets for Australian products," Mr
Hardy said. "Australia has been a leading voice in support of IP and
rules-based commerce, but the proposed regulations mandating the elimination
of trademarks and trade dress are in direct and dangerous conflict with this
view."

ICC pointed out that international law protects trademarks and
intellectual property. Several laws and treaties prohibit actions which would
harm trademark ownership rights, including the WTO Agreement on Trade Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the Paris Convention for
the Protection of Industrial Property. These laws protect branding and
trademarks for all legal products. Denying the ability to create, maintain
and use trademarks and to distinguish products is in direct conflict with
these laws and prevents the legitimate functioning of brands in a
marketplace.

"On behalf of global business, ICC urges the Australian government to
carefully consider its recommendation regarding plain packaging within the
wider context of IP protection policies, laws and enforcement regimes and the
impact it will have on business and government's ability to effectively fight
against the problems of counterfeiting and piracy and protect the public's
health," Mr Hardy said. "We urge the Australian government to reject 'plain
packaging' and look for alternative policy options."

About ICC

The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative
business organization in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member
companies in over 120 countries have interests spanning every sector of
private enterprise.

A world network of national committees keeps the ICC International
Secretariat in Paris informed about national and regional business
priorities. More than 2,000 experts drawn from ICC's member companies feed
their knowledge and experience into crafting the ICC stance on specific
business issues.

The United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G20 and many other
intergovernmental bodies, both international and regional, are kept in touch
with the views of international business through ICC.

For more information please visit: www.iccwbo.org

About BASCAP

The drain on businesses and the global economy from counterfeit goods and
piracy of intellectual property is of great concern to ICC member companies
worldwide. Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) is an
ICC initiative that unites the global business community across all product
sectors to address issues associated with intellectual property theft and to
petition for greater commitments by local, national and international
officials in the enforcement and protection of intellectual property rights.
Visit: www.iccwbo.org/bascap

    Media contact:
    Dawn Chardonnal
    ICC Communications Manager
    Tel: +33(0)1-49-53-29-07
    Email: dawn.chardonnal@iccwbo.org

Dawn Chardonnal, ICC Communications Manager, Tel: +33(0)1-49-53-29-07, Email: dawn.chardonnal at iccwbo.org