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LYON, France – Organizers of the Fifth Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting & Piracy said today that the upcoming event in Cancun, Mexico will include more than 60 global leaders from over 20 countries presenting their views on the dangers associated with the growing problems of counterfeiting and piracy. Speakers will include Ronald K. Noble, Secretary General of INTERPOL. These global government and business leaders will be joined in Cancun on 1-3 December by more than 500 delegates working to find solutions to the worldwide illegal trade in fake products.

The Fifth Global Congress is being co-hosted by INTERPOL and the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), the administrative government authority in charge of industrial property matters in Mexico.  With this Global Congress the first to be held in Latin America or the Americas, senior government leaders from Mexico are expected to present details on what they are doing to deal with counterfeiting and piracy in their country and in the region.  Government and business leaders from every nation in the region are expected to participate.

Along with INTERPOL, the Congress is being convened by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), with the co-operation of the world’s business community, represented by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) through its Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) initiative, the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the International Security Management Association (ISMA).

“The global economic crisis has placed even greater pressure on both public and private sector efforts to maintain the collective fight against counterfeiting and piracy,” said Ronald K. Noble, Secretary General of INTERPOL.  “At the same time, the criminals who are involved in this illegal trade in fakes are intensifying their efforts to grow their businesses, maximize illicit profits and build even stronger transnational organized crime networks which harm citizens and economies in all countries.  This cannot be allowed to continue and the Global Congress provides a timely opportunity for the world’s government and business leaders to come together with law enforcement to share proposals and find solutions to stop the international trade in counterfeits and pirated goods.”

IMPI Director General Jorge Amigo Castañeda said that piracy and counterfeiting were of worldwide concern because of their negative impact on trade and domestic economies. "The social and economic losses associated to these illegal activities, such as the loss of jobs and tax revenues, constitute a critical concern for governments across the globe.  Thus, we believe that international co-operation is essential to ensure that adequate border measures are enacted to deal with this very delicate situation that threatens every nation and its citizens," said Mr Amigo.

About the Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy

The Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy represents a unique, international public-private sector partnership to identify concrete solutions to the growing menace of the illegal trade in counterfeiting and piracy and facilitate their implementation. The Congress has become the leading international forum for shaping practical strategies to combat counterfeiting and piracy.

The Global Congress to Combat Counterfeiting and Piracy was previously hosted by the WCO and Dubai Customs in February, 2008 in Dubai; WIPO in January 2007 in Geneva; INTERPOL in 2005 in Lyon, France; and by the WCO in 2004 in Brussels. These international gatherings have provided a valuable forum for representatives from both the public and private sectors to pool their experiences, raise awareness, enhance co-operation and identify strategies to deal more effectively with the global problem of counterfeiting and piracy.

The theme of the Fifth Global Congress is “Bridging Boundaries for Shared Solutions”. Details on the Congress, including the programme and list of speakers, are available at www.ccapcongress.net.

For further information, please contact:

Joseph F. Clark
Executive Director, Global Congress Secretariat
Email:  joseph.clark@ccapcongress.net
Phone: +1.905.726.3438