IP/C/W/614/Add.6  
25 October  2016 
(16-5830) Page: 1/6 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
  TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N ACTIVITIES: INFORM ATION FROM  
OTHER INTERGOVERNMEN TAL ORGANIZATIONS  
WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANI ZATION (WCO)  
Addendum  
At its meeting of 7 -8 June 2016, the Council for TRIPS agreed to invite intergovernmental 
organization observers to the Counc il to update the information on their technical and financial 
cooperation programmes relating to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement.  
 
The present document reproduces the information which has been received from the World 
Customs Organization (WCO) b y means of a communication dated 14 October 2016.  
 
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1  OVERVIEW OF WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANI ZATION ( WCO ) ACTIVITIES AND TOOLS OF 
RELEVANCE TO THE TRI PS AGREEMENT  
1.  Given its resolve to protect consumer health and safety, the WCO continues to combat 
counterfeiting and piracy through the following activities and tools.  
1.1  Large -scale operations  
2.  The WCO organi zes simultaneous enforcement activities with multiple Customs administrations . 
These operations are aimed at gauging the scale of global counterfeiti ng whilst providing 
participating Customs officers with hands -on experience.  Between October  2015 and 
September  2016, the WCO organi zed three large-scale operations : Action IPR in the Asia Pacific  
region , SEASCAPE in Latin America, Central America and the Caribbean , and ACIM in Central Africa . 
The impact of such a substantial level of intervention over a short space of time sends a strong 
message both to offenders and the general public.  
1.2  National/regional seminars  
3.  The WCO delivers extensive capacity  buildin g activities , mainly in the form of legislative  
training , document  targeting training and product identification training , with private sector 
cooperation . Between October  2015 and September  2016, the WCO conducted training 
seminars /workshops  for officers from a number of WCO M ember administrations.  
1.3  Interface Public -Members (IPM)  
4.  The WCO's tool against counterfeiting has undergone a redesign  this year , both visually and 
architecturally, in order to tailor the features and functionalities to the needs of Cus toms officers 
and right holders  alike. Particular emphasis has been put on the mobile application, to enhance the 
use of the platform in the field, outside the office.  IP/C/W/614/Add.6  
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  1.4  Counterfeit and Piracy Group meeting  
5.  The annual WCO Counterfeiting and Piracy (CAP)  Group meeting provide s a forum for Customs 
and related law enforcement agencies to exchange information, experiences and best practices on 
combating counterfeiting and piracy.  At its 12th Meeting from 28 to 30 October  2015, Members 
agreed to create a global pr actice note  on combating counterfeiting and piracy  called "exchange of 
practices ". Exchange of practices will be presented at the 1 3th CAP Group Meeting from 28 to 
30 November  2016. 
1.5  E-learning module  (CLiCK) 
6.  By using the WCO 's internet -based e-learning mod ule "CLiCK", Customs officers can acquire 
practical knowledge on border enforcement related to intellectual property rights ( IPR). They can 
train themselves on intellectual property ( IP) agreements , such as the TRIPS Agreement , and on 
practical , risk-based  document targeting.  
2  WCO -LED OPERATIONS IN 201 5/201 6 
7.  Operations entail simultaneous enforcement activit ies conducted by multiple Customs 
administrations , focusing on target ed products . Operations, which quantify and qualify the impact 
of counterfeit activi ties, can also serve as an excellent opportunity to strengthen Customs ' 
enforcement capacity . Participating Members are able to learn about practical border enforcement 
measures through our Accredited Experts and gain hands-on experience using WCO tools , such as 
IPM and CENcomm.  Between October  2015 and September  2016, the WCO conducted t hree 
large-scale operations in different parts of the world and with different scopes.  
2.1  Action IPR  
8.  ACTION IPR A/P is the first joint enforcement action against counterfeitin g and piracy in th e 
Asia/Pacific Region, aimed at targeting illicit products that endanger people 's health and safety . 
This Operation was carried out from 2 3 November  to 4 December  2015, and was participated by 
26 countries in the A/P region.  
9.  The participa ting countries took part in the pre -operational Workshop organized from 21 to 
23  September  2015 in Malaysia . In the Workshop, they were trained to understand the scope, 
objective and the practical steps of the Operation, including learning the reporting p rocess of the 
Operation , good practices and practical measures on product identification with right holders.  
10.  During the Operation, participated countries raised the level of enforcement on IPR and health 
and safety -related products, resulting in the interc eption of 521,602 items (countable) and 
201,951 kg (non -countable), across 498 cases . Pharmaceutical products were the most frequently 
intercepted, while spare parts and foodstuffs were intercepted in the largest volumes.  
2.2  Operation SEASCAPE  
11.  Operation SEASC APE took place in nine countries of Central America and the Caribbean 
(Argentina, Brazil, Chili, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay) from 11  to 
22 April 2016. The Operation was preceded by the pre -operational Workshop from 6  to 
8 April 2016 in Panama.  
12.  The Workshop and Operation primarily focused on goods related to the Sporting Goods 
Industry and substandard Automotive Parts, while maintaining a general focus on all counterfeit 
and pirated goods, particularly those that may pose a threat  to health and safety.  
13.  This Operation resulted in the interception of 4.567.833 items (countable) and 2 ,102 kg 
(non-countable) for a reported market value of over US$46 million . 
 IP/C/W/614/Add.6  
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  2.3  Operation ACIM  
14.  The WCO, in close cooperation with the Regional Intelligence L iaison Office ( RILO) and under 
the co -sponsorship of the Institute of Research against Counterfeit Medicines (IRACM) , organized 
Operation "ACIM " (Action against Counterfeit and Illicit Medicines) in Central Africa from 5 to 
14 September  2016. 
15.  Prior to the Operation, the WCO  organized an IPR, Health & Safety pre-operational Workshop 
in Mombasa from 3 1 August  to 2 September  2016 with main focus on the Pharmaceutical Industry . 
16.  Operation "ACIM" mobilized the resources of 16 Customs administrations within select ed 
countries in Central Africa (Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d 'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the 
Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, 
South Africa, Tanzania and Togo) to conduct simultaneous inspec tions of consignments that may 
potentially contain certain types of counterfeit and/ or illicit pharmaceutical products.  Interpol 
supported the Workshop as well as the  Operation.  
17.  By 16 September , over 97  million  units, mainly medicines and veterinary produc ts, were 
intercepted.  
3  IPM TOOL DEVELOPMENT S 
 
 
18.  The IPM web and mobile platform continues to evolve after having undergone a visual and 
architectural redesign in September  2015, incorporating new features to facilitate both the use of 
the application itself  and the access to multiple sources of actionable information for Customs 
officers.  
3.1  Multi -lingual support  
19.  The IPM interface has been available in English, French and recently also Arabic was added . 
Following members ' requests, the Russian language has now also been added ; as a result, the 
IPM  Platform is now available in four languages, continuously lowering communication barriers . 
New languages will be added in line with the growth of our IPM user community.  IP/C/W/614/Add.6  
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  3.2  GSMA  
20.  One of the most notable and most recent de velopments is the ability for IPM users to perform 
IMEI and MEID mobile device verification, thanks to an agreement the WCO has completed with 
GSMA . This feature enables Customs officers to scan IMEI as well as MEID codes on mobile devices 
and verify again st the GSMA database . Doing so combines the GSMA information with data already 
made available by the right holder on the IPM Platform.  
3.3  GS1 – GDSN Synchronization  
21.  More than 35,000 companies producing consumer goods have already adopted the use of 
GS1's GDSN  standards . GDSN is a network of data pools that enable companies around the world 
to exchange product information in a standardized format . Right holders that make their GDSN 
electronic product catalogues available through the IPM Platform, dramatically i ncrease the level 
and quality of information available to Customs officers . Furthermore, synchronizing right  holders 
GDSN electronic product catalogues with the IPM Platform ensures that all right  holders ' products 
are correctly referenced, up -to-date and searchable via their barcode.  
3.4  Security Solutions linked to IPM  
22.  Over the past years the WCO has been working closely with an increasing number of Security 
Solution Providers allowing Customs officers to verify the authenticity of products online, greatly 
increasing the operational efficiency of the IPM platform . Better integration of right holder ' data 
and interoperability with their traceability solutions will lead to higher efficiency and usage of the 
IPM Platform.  
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  IP/C/W/614/Add.6  
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ANNEX1 
TECHNICAL COOPE RATION ACTIVITIES IN  THE TRIPS AREA FROM 1 OCTOBER 2015 TO 30  SEPTEMBER 2016  
Category  From  To Year Location  Countries  Activity  Other 
organization  
National Seminar  18 Jan 22 Jan 2016 Georgia    National Seminar  on Combating Counterfeiting 
and Piracy    
National Seminar  8 Feb 12 Feb 2016 Ukraine    National Seminar  on Combating Counterfeiting 
and Piracy    
National Seminar  29 Feb 4 Mar 2016 India   National Seminar  on Combating Counterfeiting 
and Piracy    
National Seminar  26 Sep 26 Sep 2016 India   Training P rogramme for Indian Customs Officials 
on Trademark Border Enforcement  JETRO (Japan 
External Trade 
Organization)  
National Workshop  1 Aug 4 Aug 2016 Myanmar    National Workshop on Combating Counterfeiting 
and Piracy    
Regional Seminar  2 Mar 4 Mar 2016 Japan   Regional Seminar for OIE(Office International 
des Epizooties or World Organization For Animal 
Health) National Focal Points for Veterinary 
Products  OIE(Office 
International des 
Epizooties or 
World 
Organization For 
Animal Health)  
Regional Seminar  14 Mar 18 Mar 2016 Malaysia    17th Asia Pacific Regional Heads of Customs 
Administrations Conference    
                                                
1 In English only.    
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Category  From  To Year Location  Countries  Activity  Other 
organization  
Regional Workshop  21 Mar 23 Mar 2016 Thailand  Afghanistan, 
Bhutan, 
Cambodia, China, 
India, Indonesia, 
Iran, Lao  PDR, 
Malaysia, 
Maldives, 
Mongolia, Samoa, 
Singapore, Sri 
Lanka, Thailand, 
Papua New 
Guinea, Tonga, 
Myanmar, 
Vanuatu, Vietnam  Post-Action Workshop for Joint Enforcement 
Action Against Counterfeiting and Piracy in the 
A/P Region    
Operation  6 Apr 22 Apr 2016 Central 
America and 
the 
Caribbean  Argen tina, Brazil, 
Chile, Costa Rica, 
Mexico, Panama, 
Paraguay, Peru, 
Uruguay  SEASCAPE    
Operation  31 Aug 14 Sep 2016 Central 
Africa  Angola, Benin, 
Cameroon, 
Côte d’Ivoire, 
Democratic 
Republic of the 
Congo, Gabon, 
Ghana, Kenya, 
Mozambique, 
Namibia, Nigeria, 
the Republic of 
the Congo, 
Senegal, South 
Africa, Tanzania, 
Togo ACIM IRACM (Institute 
of Research  
Against 
Counterfeit 
Medicines)  
 
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