WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/549/Add.1 
11 October 2010 
 
 (10-5193) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:  INFORMATION FROM 
OTHER INTERGOVERNMEN TAL ORGANIZATIONS 
 
WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION (WCO) 
 
Addendum  
   At its meeting of 8-9 June 2010, the Council for TRIPS agreed to invite intergovernmental 
organization observers to the Council to update th e information on their technical and financial 
cooperation programmes relating to the im plementation 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 30 September 2010. 
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I. GENERAL REMARKS 
1. The WCO and its 177 Member Customs administra tions continue to face the challenge to 
combat the menacing and growing phenomenon of  counterfeiting and piracy, recognizing that 
Customs administrations have a key role to play in IPR protection, and that every possible effort 
should be made in this regard. 
2. Because of Customs position at land, sea and air borders, they are placed in the front line of 
the battle against counterfeiting. Members are con tinuing to increase surveillance for IPR infringing 
goods at international borders, reaffirming their commitment to fighting ag ainst counterfeiting and 
piracy. 
3. This is well proven by the fact that Member  Customs reported in 2009 the increase both in 
seizure cases (13,280 cases or a 19 per cent increase compared to 2008) and in the number of items 
seized (291 million items or a  29 per cent increase compared to 2008) (Source:  Customs and IPR Report 2009). 
II. IPR TECHNICAL COOPERATION BY THE WCO SECRETARIAT AND WCO 
MEMBERS 
A. P
LATFORM FOR DISCUSSION AT THE WCO 
4. The June 2009 Policy Commission and Council S ession, held in Brussels, approved the 
Terms of Reference for the creation of a new WC O body to deal with Customs IPR issues known as 
the WCO Counterfeiting and Piracy (CAP) Group.  Th e scope of this newly established Group is to 
discuss and exchange views, experi ences, practices and initiatives of Customs administrations as well IP/C/W/549/Add.1 
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  as to discuss Capacity Building and Training, ai ming towards a more effective combat against 
counterfeiting and piracy.  The 1st and 2nd CAP Group meetings were held in WCO headquarters in 
October 2009 and May 2010 respectively.  The 3rd CAP Group meeting is scheduled for 3-4 
November 2010.  
5. Seeking for a more pragmatic approach and in  response to Members operational needs, the 
Right Holders Consultative Group was established as a discussion forum for practical means of 
cooperation, including capacity building between Ri ght Holders and Members, in order to assist 
Customs to effectively fight against counterfeiting and piracy.  The establishment of this Group reflects the WCO’s commitment to enhancing its ac tion through adjustments and improvements made 
to the various services and tools available, and used  by national Customs administrations in order to 
combat counterfeiting and piracy.   
B. T
OOLS FOR TECHNICAL COOPERATION  
6. Interface Public Members (IPM) is a WCO initiative to combat intellectual property 
infringement. It was introduced to the leaders of Customs around the world during the WCO annual 
Council Sessions in June 2010 when the Cotonou Declaration was signe d by the Secretary General of 
the WCO.  It is envisioned as a permanent traini ng tool to enhance the operational capacity of 
Customs officials and also enhance communicati on between right holders and Member Customs 
administrations. Through the IPM, Members will have access to various training and practical 
identification tools that will help improve th eir actions in the detection of counterfeit goods. 
C. WCO’ S IPR  TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING  
7. Delivery of training and capacity building assist ance to Customs officers is a key component 
to ensure the most effectiv e IPR enforcement worldwide.  
8. The WCO is continuing to enhance its activities to a great extent in quantity and quality with 
its expertise. The WCO made efforts to see that  IPR training and capacity building activities are 
effectively delivered to Members.   
1. IPR Training and Capacity Building provided by the WCO (December 2009 - 
September 2010)  
 (a) Regional Training Seminars  
   Hungary (May 2010:  15 countries)  
China (August and September 2010:  30 countries) Ukraine (September and October 2010:  20 countries) 
 
 (b) National Training Seminars
 
 
Mauritius (March and April 2010) 
Tunisia (June 2010)  
Mongolia (June 2010) 
Azerbaijan (June 2010)  Cambodia (July 2010) Madagascar (July 2010) Angola (August 2010) Honduras (September 2010) 
  IP/C/W/549/Add.1 
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  (c) Diagnostic Missions  
   Fiji (February 2010)   Moldova (February 2010)   Benin (February 2010),  
  Morocco (February 2010)  
  Lao PDR (May 2010)   (d)  Action Plans
 
 
  Vietnam (March 2010) 
 (e)  Operational exercises
 
 
   - Operation GOALS 2010 held in South Africa in April 2010, including the 
 participation of Namibia and Mozambique, targeting the World Cup.  
 
-  Operation MAX 55 held in the Mediterranean Area in June/July 2010, 
specifically with the participation of Algeria (port:  Oran), Cyprus (port: imassol), Morocco (port:  Casablanca), Croatia (port: Rijeka), 
Spain (ports: Alicante, Valencia and Barcelona), France (port: Marseille), 
Greece (port: Piraeus), Lebanon (port: Beirut), Israel (port: Tel Aviv), 
Malta (port: Valletta), Romania (port: C onstanta), Slovenia (port: Koper) and 
Tunisia (port: Tunis)  
 
2. Accreditation of additional IPR experts to effectively deliver training 
 In order to deliver training and capacity build ing in an effective and flexible manner, the 
WCO has accredited a pool of IPR experts from Member Customs administrations.  As of 
September 2010, a total of 29 accredited experts ar e available to support the WCO’s training and 
capacity building.   The latest accreditation workshop was held at the WCO Headquarters, Brussels in May 2010.  
The workshop accredited 10 new technical experts, 3 of them from the legislative field and 7 from the 
operational field (maritime ports and airports).   
3. IPR Training and Capacity Building to be conducted in the coming months 
 Currently the WCO has received approximately 40 requests for IPR capacity building from 
Member countries.  The WCO will make its utmost effo rt to respond to these re quests for assistance.   
  
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