Jean-Paul Forceville, Chairman of the UPU POC, spoke at the Intellectual Property Summit held in Sofia, Bulgaria, on June 14 and 15.
The summit, organized by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), brought together several sector's major actors. Among them were May Berthelot, Senior Director of Anti-Counterfeiting at Vinted, Leo Longauer, Director of Brand Protection at LVMH, and Claudia Martinez Felix, Deputy Director at the European Commission's DG GROW.
These speakers were invited to share their views on how rights holders, intermediaries, and relevant authorities can improve information sharing to mitigate the global counterfeiting phenomenon. Jean-Paul Forceville emphasized the critical role of cooperation in the battle against intellectual property infringement.
La Poste Groupe, Forceville recalled, already works closely with customs authorities, including the World Customs Organization, DGTAXUD, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, providing electronic data to customs officers responsible for data-based risk analysis and assisting them in identifying illicit traffic in postal warehouses.
However, he was also keen to point out that there is still a lot to be done to improve the current system. Technologies such as Blockchain or Artificial Intelligence could contribute to a global solution, facilitating verification work. Furthermore, educating consumers to avoid buying counterfeits online is also a crucial aspect of the fight against this phenomenon.
Mr. Forceville concluded by saying that the discussions are not over and that La Poste was ready to participate in this long-term process. This matter must also be tackled by PostEurop and the UPU.
Jean-Paul Forceville's presence at the summit underlined the importance of intellectual property in the European and global context and the decisive role that postal organizations can play in the fight against counterfeiting.