IP/C/W/609/Add.3  
 
2 October 2015  
(15-5143)  Page: 1/7  
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
  TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: INFORMATION FROM  
OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS 
WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION (WCO) 
Addendum 
At its meeting of 9-10 June 2015, the Council for TRIPS agreed to invite intergovernmental 
organization observers to the Council 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) by means of a communication dated 29 September 2015.  
 
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1  OVERVIEW OF WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION (WCO) ACTIVITIES AND TOOLS OF RELEVANCE TO THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
1.1.  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  
1.2.  The WCO organizes simultaneous enforcement activities with multiple Customs 
administrations. These operations are aimed at gauging the scale of global counterfeiting whilst providing participating Customs officers with hands-on experience. Between October 2014 and 
September 2015, the WCO organized two large-scale operations: Operation Channel Gate in East 
Africa and Operation Balkan Gate in the Balkan region.  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 1.3.  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 2014 and September 2015, the WCO conducted training seminars/workshops for officers from a to tal of 120 WCO Member administrations.  
1.3  Interface Public-Members (IPM) 
1.4.  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 Customs 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/609/Add.3 
 
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  1.4  Counterfeit and Piracy Group meeting 
1.5.  The annual WCO Counterfeiting and Piracy  (CAP) Group meeting provides a forum for 
Customs and related law enforcement agencies to  exchange information, experiences and best 
practices on combating counterfeiting and piracy.  At its 11th Meeting on 4 and 5 November 2014, 
Members held an extensive discussion on dedicated IPR offices in Customs administrations and 
commissioned the WCO Secretariat to conduct a survey  on the topic. The resu lts of the survey will 
be presented at the 12th CAP Group Meeting from 28 to 30 October 2015. 
1.5  E-learning module 
1.6.  By using the WCO’s internet-based e-learning module, Customs officers can acquire practical 
knowledge on border enforcement related to inte llectual property rights (IPR). They can train 
themselves on intellectual property (IP) agr eements, such as the TRIPS Agreement, and on 
practical, risk-based document targeting. 
2  WCO-LED OPERATIONS IN 2014/2015  2.1.  Operations entail simultaneous enforcement activities conducted by multiple Customs 
administrations, focusing on targeted products.  Operations, which quantify and qualify the impact 
of counterfeit activities, can also serve as an excellent opportunity to strengthen Customs’ enforcement capacity. Participating Members are ab le 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 2014 and September 2015, the WCO conducted three large-scale operations in different parts of the world and with different scopes.  
2.1  Operation GOL 14  
2.2.  Operation GOL 14 was the first operation in South America and Panama targeting sporting 
goods. It was planned in conjunction with the 2014 FIFA World Cup, in order to familiarize Customs administrations with new anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy measures within a more 
tailored and specialized capacity building framework focusing on sporting goods. 
2.3.  Operation GOL 14 rallied the forces of six Customs administrations in South America and one 
in Central America. Spearheaded by the WCO, the operation took place from 13 to 22 March 2014 
in close collaboration with the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI), Brazil 
Customs and six other Customs administrations, under the co-sponsorship of the European Union, in order to step-up enforcement at a regional level. 
2.4.  The operation was conducted in 13 leading ports of the seven participating countries within 
Latin America, and resulted in the interception  of 743,076 counterfeit articles, of which 510,487 
were directly related to the sporting goods industry.  
2.2  Operation Channel Gate 
2.5.  Earlier large-scale operations, such as Operations BIYELA 1 and 2, highlighted the importance 
of the East Africa region as one of the key gateways for illicit medicines to enter the continent as a whole. Operation Channel Gate was therefore the second intensive enforcement action in 2014, 
involving multiple Customs authorities in the region and targeting illicit pharmaceutical items and 
products endangering consumer health and safety.  
2.6.  The five-day operation took place from 8 to 12 December 2014, under the co-sponsorship of 
the Japanese Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF/Japan), and was aimed at strengthening the 
enforcement capabilities of participating Customs administrations, especially on risk analysis 
techniques and distinguishing between genuine and counterfeit goods.  
2.7.  The operation, involving seven Customs administrations and seven ports, led to the 
interception of 1,910,982 items either infringing IP R or failing to meet national health and safety IP/C/W/609/Add.3 
 
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  standards1, originating mainly in China, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.  Medicines made 
up the bulk of the interceptions, accounting for around 90 % of the total amount.  
2.8.  The results and conclusions of Operation Channel Gate highlighted some persistent issues in 
Africa, such as the crucial need to put in place sound risk management in the field of IPR, to 
establish effective collaboration with Right Holders and national health authorities alike, and to 
enhance transparency and accountability in the inspection and verification sphere. 
3  IPM – THE WCO’S TOOL AG AINST COUNTERFEITING   
3.1.  In 2015, the WCO carried out a complete redesi gn of both its web and mobile IPM platforms.  
Within four years of it first becoming operational, the IPM tool has developed from the basic functionality of a genuine and fake database, featuring images and basic descriptions of products, to a more complex system offering options such as sending alerts to Customs officers, an e-
learning platform and a mobile application, launched last year.  
3.2.  The IPM mobile application is probably the most significant milestone in the development of 
the IPM tool. Customs Officers can consult IPM product information in the field, outside their 
offices, on a mobile device with an internet connection.  The new mobile application was revamped 
to provide a more ergonomic, user-friendly and intuitive digital tool, having taken into consideration the technical suggestions garnered from law enforcement officers who used it 
extensively during several testing sessions in various Customs administrations, including Ireland, 
the United Arab Emirates, Israel and the United St ates (Homeland Security Investigations - ICE).  
3.3.  The feedback compiled in the wake of the pilot sessions played a major role in the 
development and redesigning process, as we released the final tool based on the comments and 
suggestions received.  The WCO was delighted to have more than 500 Customs officers log on to 
and use the mobile platform during the duration of the pilots completed at the time of writing.  
3.4.  The development and availability of IPM Database access for Customs officers around the 
globe, via their mobile phones, will aid in produc tivity by streamlining the product identification 
process and facilitating optimal collaboration with Right Holders, allowing immediate contact via mobile.  In order to succeed in the fight against counterfeiting, it is imperative to build closer 
cooperation and increase dialogue with Right Holders.   
3.5.  The mobile application is currently available to all WCO Members, for Android and iOS users, 
and is fully functional.  The new platform will also include a powerful set of analytical tools generating an unprecedented wealth of informat ion and data.  The security parameters of IPM 
mobile are also of a very high standard, with encrypted data at multiple levels and offering 
different layers of protection, tailored to each Customs administration’s needs.  
3.6.  Along with IPM Mobile, we have introduced the IPM Connected service which is an extra 
option on the mobile application bringing together, under the same umbrella, a multitude of 
security solutions providers.  These security feat ures are interfaced with IPM and, as a result, 
Customs officers are able to check the authenticity of a given product directly by scanning a 
unique code (alphanumeric code, Quick Response (QR) code, Radio Frequency Identification 
(RFID) code, etc.) and receiving actionable data on the spot.  At the time of writing, a total of 16 security features providers have signed up to IP M and two already have features in production.  
3.7.  Moreover, the new IPM architecture now permit s interfacing with external databases, such as 
the Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN) da ta pools.  When a Customs officer searches for 
a product, IPM will run a search within its database and a secondary data source will be queried if no result is found or if extra information needs to be displayed.  The WCO is currently in the 
process of interfacing with several external databases, such as GDSN and Global Recall. 
3.8.  The WCO IPM will also be interfacing with  the Enforcement Database (EDB), a similar tool 
developed by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) for law enforcement 
officers at European Union level.  With the integration between the EDB and IPM platforms, Right 
                                               
1 No counterfeit pharmaceutical products were  intercepted during Operation CHANNEL GATE IP/C/W/609/Add.3 
 
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  Holders will be able to transfer all their informatio n from one platform to another. This will enable 
Customs users to view EDB-specific fields in IPM, avoiding duplication of effort by Rights Holders. 
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  IP/C/W/609/Add.3  
 
- 5 - ANNEX1 
Technical Cooperation Activities in the TRIPS Area from 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2015 
Category  From  To  Year Location  Beneficiaries   
(ISO codes) Activity  Other  
organization  
Diagnostic   13‐
Oct 17‐
Oct 2014 Costa Rica  CR  Diagnostic  of the legislative,  operational  and structural  
aspects of IPR’ in the National Customs Service of Costa 
Rica.   
National Seminar   3‐Nov 7‐Nov 2014 Bosnia & 
Herzegovina  BA  National Operational  Seminar on Combating  
Counterfeiting  and Piracy.   
Operation   3‐Dec 12‐
Dec 2014 Tanzania  KE, MG, MR, 
MZ, SC, TZ, 
UG Operation  Channel Gate.  A combination  of 3‐day 
training seminar and a week‐long sub‐regional operation  
targeting counterfeiting  items.   
Regional Seminar  27‐
Nov 27‐
Nov 2014 Namibia  14 East and 
South African 
Countries  Lectures on IPM (WCO's computer  system on anti‐
counterfeiting)  for customs intelligence  officers.   
Regional Workshop   10‐
Dec 12‐
Dec 2014 Austria  AZ, GE, IR, IL, 
KG, MD, ME, 
TJ, TR, UA, UZ Lectures on Customs IPR Border measures  in 
Enforcement  of Intellectual  Property Rights WTO 
Regional Workshop  for CEECAC Countries  WTO 
Regional Workshop   19‐Jan 23‐
Jan 2015 Japan  AU, BT, HK, 
ID, JP, PK, PH, 
TO Regional Accreditation  Workshop  for Technical  
Operational  Advisers on Combating  Counterfeiting  and 
Piracy   
National Seminar   9‐Feb 12‐
Feb 2015 Egypt  EG  National Operational  Seminar on Combating  
Counterfeiting  and Piracy.   
National Seminar   22‐
Feb 26‐
Feb 2015 Jordan  JO  National Operational  Seminar on Combating  
Counterfeiting  and Piracy.   
                                               
1 In English only.  
  IP/C/W/609/Add.3  
 
- 6 - Category  From  To  Year Location  Beneficiaries   
(ISO codes) Activity  Other  
organization  
Operation   11‐
Mar 20‐
Mar 2015 FYROM  BG, HR, GR, 
IT, RO, AL, 
BA, MK,  RS Operation  Balkan Gate.  A combination  of 3‐day training 
seminar and a week long sub‐regional operation  
targeting counterfeiting  items.   
National Seminar   13‐
Apr 17‐
Apr 2015 Azerbaijan   AZ  National Operational  Seminar on Combating  
Counterfeiting  and Piracy.   
Regional Workshop   20‐
Apr 22‐
Apr 2015 Malaysia  AF, BT, KH, 
CN, FJ, ID, IN, 
JP, KR, LA, 
MO, MV, MY, 
MN, MM, NP, 
PK, PG, PH, 
WS, SG, LK, 
TH, TO, VN Regional Workshopr  on Combating  Counterfeiting  and 
Piracy with special focus on cooperation  with private 
sector.   
Sub‐Regional 
Seminar 18‐
May 22‐
May 2015 Peru  AR, BO, BR, 
CL, PY, UY, PE Sub‐Regional Operational  Seminar on Combating  
Counterfeiting  and Piracy.    
National Seminar   1‐Jun 5‐Jun 2015 Oman  OM  National Operational  Seminar on Combating  
Counterfeiting  and Piracy.   
National Seminar   15‐Jun 19‐
Jun 2015 Zimbabwe   ZW  National Operational  Seminar on Combating  
Counterfeiting  and Piracy.   
National Seminar   7‐Jul  8‐Jul 2015 Kazakhstan  KZ  National Operational  Seminar on Combating  
Counterfeiting  and Piracy.   
National Seminar   27‐Jul 31‐Jul 2015 Jamaica  JM  National Operational  Seminar on Combating  
Counterfeiting  and Piracy.   
National Workshop   2‐Aug 6‐Aug 2015 Bangladesh  BD  National Workshop  on Combating  Counterfeiting  and 
Piracy.   
National Seminar   21‐
Aug 21‐
Aug 2015 India  ID  Training Program for Indian Customs Officicials  on 
Trademark  Border Enforcement  JETRO(Japan  
External Trade 
Organization)   
  IP/C/W/609/Add.3  
 
- 7 - Category  From  To  Year Location  Beneficiaries   
(ISO codes) Activity  Other  
organization  
National Seminar   14‐
Sep 18‐
Sep 2015 FYROM  MK  National Operational  Seminar on Combating  
Counterfeiting  and Piracy.   
Regional Workshop    21‐
Sep 23‐
Sep 2015 Malaysia  AF, BD, BT, 
KH, CN, FJ, ID, 
IN,  IR, JP, 
MO, MY, MV, 
MN, MM, PK, 
PG, PH, WS, 
SG, LK, TH, TL, 
TO, VU, VN Train‐the‐Trainer Workshop  for Joint Enforcement  
Action Against Counterfeiting  and Piracy in the A/P 
Region    
National Seminar   13‐
Oct 15‐
Oct 2015 Malawi  MW  National Operational  Seminar on Combating  
Counterfeiting  and Piracy.   
 
 
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