The Project Project FAKES was funded by the European Commission, Directorate General Home Affairs and was carried out in cooperation with the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group (GACG) and the Joint Research Centre on Transnational Crime (TRANSCRIME).

National Authorities Involved

Romania, Public Ministry - Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice
Poland, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage - Intellectual Property and Media Law Department Copyright Division
Czech Republic, Industrial Property Office - International Department

Main objectives

Identification of existing standards and best practices regarding investigation/prosecution/assets recovery in counterfeiting cases in the EU and overall assessment of the legislation on counterfeiting in the 27 EU Member States (see below, "Research");
Elaboration of an operative toolkit backed upon the identified best practices and existing standards on anti-counterfeiting in the three selected countries) (see below, “Toolkit and Training Courses”);
Training of Customs officers, police officers and prosecutors in the selected countries relying on the expertise of the partners and on the abovementioned toolkit (see below, “Toolkit and Training Courses”);

Results and Activities

Research

The research was divided into two main parts: the identification of existing standards and best practices regarding investigation and prosecution in counterfeiting cases in the EU and an overall assessment of the legislation on counterfeiting in the 27 EU member states.

One of the outcomes of the research was the elaboration of two Reports: “Anti Brand Counterfeiting in the EU: Report on International and National Existing Standards” and “Anti Brand Counterfeiting in the EU: Report on Best Practices”.

Toolkit and Training Courses

On the basis of the research, a training manual was elaborated in order to be used during the training sessions and provide the national authorities with a more effective instrument to tackle the phenomenon.

The traThe training manual was designed to cover both the theoretical and practical areas of the training courses and provide information on methodological, technical, logistical and organizational training-related aspects. Its contents are based on the results of the needs assessments carried out by the project partners in cooperation with the relevant national authorities. The manual’s content reflects the interests, needs and expectations of each country involved at the operative, investigation and prosecution levels. Furthermore, the methodology has been selected according to the specific characteristics of the trainees, taking into consideration their background experience and expertise.

The Training Manual was organized in six (Romanian version) or five (Polish and Czech versions) distinct sections. Each section begins with specific objectives, outlining the suggested materials required. This is followed by a reference text that can be used by the trainer. The training manual is available in English, Romanian, Polish and Czech.

The training seminars were delivered to two sessions of 20 participants each in each beneficiary country, training a total of 120 trainees from February to June 2011.