CACN NEWS
May 2016
Halifax: 
Due to the low registration, we regret to inform you we have cancelled the Halifax Reality Tour scheduled for June 16, 2016. 
IACC Conference in Orlando
This year's conference brought together more then 500 professionals from across the world to unit on the fight against Anti-counterfeiting. CACN's Chair Terry Hunter was in attendance, accompanied by CACN secretariat Cherith Sinasac, and dedicated committee member, Lorne Lipkus. 

The conference kicked off with a speech from the honourable Max Baucus, US Ambassador to the people's republic of China. The need for collaboration and innovation were common themes that ran strong throughout the conference.  

The controversy concerning Alibaba's membership in the IACC, was directly addressed by IACC and Alibaba. In a presentation from Michael Evans "As the global leader in e-commerce, we have both the responsibility and the commitment to be the global leader in anti-counterfeiting. We are 100% committed to fighting this battle. We see no path to success other than working closely with you." To see a video or transcript of Michael's speech, please click here  

Alibaba's commitment was reiterated by Matthew Bassiur who cited the Alibaba collaboration with IACC on their MarketSafe Program, Data Force Initiative and the new Brand Advisory Board. The MarketSafe Program is scheduled to expand later this year. The expansion will include members and non-members, large and small businesses, will be free of charge, and will shift the burden of proof away from brand owners.   Brand owners had the opportunity to express their skepticism and assured Alibaba they would be watching and expecting results. For more information on the MarketSafe Program, click here.

David Green, Vice President of Public Policy at NBC Universal, informed delegates that fraudulent ads cost the industry $8.2 billion annually.  He encouraged brand owners to work with the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) who has launched an Anti-Fraud Certification Program. TAG has asked brand owners to sign their pledge to fight Ad-Supported piracy.  For more information, visit TAG's website.
CACN Chair Meets with INTA in Ottawa

On May 10 and 11, 2016 a delegation from the International Trademark Association (INTA), led by its CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo and Manager, Anti-counterfeiting, Maysa Razavi, met with Canadian Government representatives and several Canadian organizations to discuss the implementation of the Combating Counterfeit Products Act and recordation system in Canada as well as recent amendments to the Trademarks Act. CACN Chair, Terry Hunter attended the meeting involving Canadian Associations on behalf of CACN. Many CACN members are also members of INTA and each were in attendance at one or more of the events that took place over the two days.  In addition, the INTA Unreal Campaign was launched at a local Ottawa Secondary School. 

2016 Niagara Counterfeit & Fraud Workshop

The 24 th Annual Niagara Counterfeit and Fraud Workshop took place in Niagara Falls with more than 200 attendees from across Canada - including representatives from law enforcement, industry, government and financial institutions in attendance. This conference is a joint venture between the Niagara Regional Police, RCMP and the Bank of Canada. Representatives from CACN Kestenberg Siegal Lipkus LLP, Jeff Vansteenkiste, Manager of Online Investigation and Eleni Tsorovas attended to conduct training on behalf of several intellectual property rights holders with a display of dozens of counterfeit samples.

The International Trademark Association to Send High-Level Delegation to Canada
Lorne Lipkus, an anti-counterfeiting  lawyer from  Toronto with 30 years of  experience in this topic, says  that social media platforms  are handy for scammers  because they can easily set  up multiple accounts to  conduct their business. He  advises people to stay away  from Facebook or Twitter  when looking for tickets. " It can't be emphasized  enough that people  shouldn't be meeting strangers  in parking lots, getting  pieces of paper that they pay  a lot of money for, thinking  that they're actually going to  get tickets," he says. Read the full article here.
 
The International Trademark Association to Send High-Level Delegation to Canada
The International Trademark Association (INTA) will be sending a high-level delegation to Canada in an effort to raise awareness about the harms of counterfeiting to the Canadian public and economy.  The delegation visit will also coincide with the official launch of INTA's unreal campaign in Canada. Read More  
RCMP  & CBSA Work Together in Order to Arrest an Individual Involved in the Importation of US Counterfeit Currency
The RCMP's Greater Toronto Area Financial Crime Integrated Counterfeit Enforcement team (GTA FC ICET) has arrested and charged a male after he was found to have in his custody in excess of $130,000 of US counterfeit one-hundred dollar  bills. Read more
Alibaba Group Becomes the First 
E-Commerce Company to Join the Internation al Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition 
"Preserving the integrity of Alibaba's marketplaces is a top priority. Counterfeiting is a global, industry-wide issue, and effective collaboration with brands, retailers, trade associations, governments and other industry partners is a key component to our overall success," said Matthew Bassiur, Vice President and Head of Global IP Enforcement at Alibaba Group. Read more:  click here
Some Howl Over Alibaba's Place in Anti-Counterfeiting Group
The prospect of sitting in a Hyatt Regency ballroom in Florida and listening to Jack Ma, founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, deliver the keynote for the international Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition's conference this month did not sit well with Michael Kors general counsel.  Read more
Gucci Quits US Anti- Counterfeiting  Group after Alibaba Joins
Gucci America has quit the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, the second defection since the Washington, D.C.-based group allowed Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba to become a member in April. 
Alibaba Group and International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) Announce IACC Marketsafe Expansion Program
Through the IACC MarketSafe Program, the IACC and paticipating companies work with Alibaba to identify and take down infringing listings on Alibaba's China retail Marketplaces via an expedited removal procedure that has resulted in a 100% take-down rate when companies stand behind their claims.  Since the program's launch, and with only a limited number of brands enrolled, nearly 5,000 sellers' store-fronts have been closed and permanently banned from Alibaba's marketplaces. 
Systech Honored by Vision Systems Design 2016 Innovators Awards Program
Systech was honoured with a Platinum-level award. UniSecure™ is a universal brand and product protection solution that can uniquely identify and register any single manufactured product.  It can then track that individual product throughout the supply chain and authenticate it at any point via mobile app anywhere in the world. 
Counterfeiting is Costly to the Food Industry
In Canada, recent studies have discovered that 25 to 70 percent of seafood products sold in Canada are mislabelled due to counterfeiting somewhere along the supply chain. Chances are you have already unknowingly purchased a counterfeited food product at a restaurant, a well-known retailer or even at a high-end speciality store.  Read more
Upcoming Events
June 20-21, 2016
Vancouver, BC

June 22-23, 2016
Miami, FL
 
October 19-21, 2016
Scottsdale, AZ
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The Canadian Competition Bureau releases revised
Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines
The Competition Bureau has recently released a revised version of its Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines. The Guidelines describe the Bureau's approach to conducting investigations under the 
Competition Act in respect of anti-competitive activities that relate to intellectual property. The primary revisions, which represent the Bureau's first 
major update since the IPEGs original release in 2000. 
To read the summary article written by Smart & Biggar, click here.

For the full report, click here
UNIFAB Study:2016 Report
Terrorism & Counterfeiting 

Unifab publication of this report aims to provide an insight into the links between terrorism and counterfeiting, as well as demonstrating that this illegal activity is a favourite method for financing terrorist actions.

Read the full report here

OECD Report: Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods

The new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study-entitled "Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods: Mapping the Economic Impact"-highlights that trade in counterfeit and pirated goods has grown from US$250 billion annually in 2008 to more than US$461 billion in 2013. According to these findings, counterfeit products now represent more than 2.5% of all world trade-including 5% of all imports into the European Union.

Read the full report here
CACN Training Program

Let's Put an End to Counterfeiting Help Strengthen Public Safety!


 

Participate in CACN's Anti-Counterfeiting Training Program and learn how your team can help combat product counterfeiting and copyright in Canada. This program is designed for customs and law enforcement agencies as well as related government agencies nationwide.

 

Learn more 


 
  
 
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