New French Crackdown on “Counterfeit Tourism”

As reported in several major European publications, new laws have customs officials in France starting to crackdown on what they are calling “counterfeit tourism” – that is people from other countries who buy or bring in counterfeit goods while they are visiting France.

This is a significant shift in the enforcement of anti-counterfeiting laws. While other country’s police and customs authorities only target suppliers of counterfeit goods, in France, the authorities are now focusing on those who buy fake goods or bring counterfeit products into the country.

These new laws mean that French tourists could now be fined up to a maximum of €300,000 ($450,000) or face up to three years in jail if they are found to be in possession of or purchasing fake goods.

While certainly outside a traditional law enforcement tactic, this is seen as a significant step in changing the perception of the purchase of counterfeit goods with consumers. As with some crimes, many feel that the issue of fake goods is a “victimless” crime and do not understand the macro consequences of safety, health and economic well being that are impacted heavily by counterfeit goods.

It will be interesting to observe the enforcement, repercussions and effectiveness of these new laws in France.

US Drug makers Express Concern with USA Trading Partner Countries

The US Trade Representative (USTR) released its 2009 Special 301 Report on Friday May 1, 2009. According to the report, US drug makers have expressed concern over the policies of a number of USA’s trading partners - including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan in regards to global intellectual property protection.

“In this time of economic uncertainty, we need to redouble our efforts to work with all of our trading partners – even our closest allies and neighbors such as Canada – to enhance protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the context of a rules-based trading system,” said the USTR, Ambassador Ron Kirk.

The USTR Priority Watch List for 2009 names countries requiring particular scrutiny - Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, Taiwan, Thailand and Venezuela. Canada was added to list for the first time this year, due to “increasing concern about the continuing need for copyright reform, as well as continuing concern about weak border enforcement.”

Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Russia are listed as areas where the manufacture of counterfeit drugs is rampant.

Indonesia joins the list for its counterfeit manufacturing, its counterfeit drug trade and the introduction last year’s law on the operation of foreign pharmaceutical companies that raises “significant market access concerns;”

China is also listed due to its regulatory lapse in the enforcement of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) – since often these ingredients are not declared as a bulk chemical intended for use in pharmaceuticals by API makers to avoid regulatory oversight.

To read a recap on the USTR Report visit Pharma Times.

It is understandable that China’s lack of regulatory control for APIs would be of particular concern to the US since China provides 40% of the APIs for drugs. The impact of this danger was felt dramatically last year when an adulterated substance added by a Chinese supplier resulted in the heparin recall and almost 100 deaths in the United States.