WIPO - Global Congress Calls for Greater Effort and Resources in Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy Worldwide
On 30 January 2007, the 3rd Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy was convened in Geneva by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to discuss greater efforts and resources to counter the escalation of counterfeiting and piracy.
Director General of WIPO Dr Kamil Idris said that “counterfeiters and pirates are thwarting economic development and endangering health and safety. Their methods are sophisticated, their reach is far and their crimes claim victims every day. The scourge of counterfeiting and piracy has assumed epidemic proportions. This is a global phenomenon which requires global action”.
The report noted that “the staggering economic costs of counterfeiting and piracy have a deep impact on the economy as a whole as they translate into lost earnings, lost jobs and lost tax revenues. Today, almost every product on the market is a target of counterfeiting and piracy, endangering human health and safety and undermining economic development”.