Acting Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, announced today at the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Office of Intellectual Property of the European Union (EUIPO), based in Alicante, that “as soon as Government is formed, we will present a National and Comprehensive Plan to Combat Counterfeiting ”.
The minister explained that the Plan has been prepared by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) and intends to address the issue through different lines of action grouped into four axes: regulation, coordination, analysis and training, and awareness. He also announced that in the next few days the SPTO will launch an advertising campaign whose objective will be to raise public awareness about the danger of buying counterfeit products.
In his speech, Reyes Maroto reaffirmed the commitment of the Executive in the fight against counterfeiting, and listed the actions carried out in this area, such as the work carried out by the Intersectoral Commission to act against the infringing activities of Industrial Property Rights – which He had not met for several years – the creation of the Bureau of Intrusism and the incorporation into the Spanish legal system of the Directive on trademarks.
Regarding the work of the SPTO, he mentioned the Collaboration Agreement with EUIPO, which allows the use of computer tools, promotional activities, convergence of EU practices and projects in third countries, and their relevant participation in meetings, programs and projects developed by EUIPO in the field of European cooperation. He also said that the collaboration with EUIPO "is being very fruitful for Spain, as it helps us establish symbiosis that improve both the functioning of the national public administration and the procedures and tasks of the European agency." He added that “EUIPO is a success story in itself, but also of the European Union, by showing how a European policy can be developed in a close and useful way to its recipients, users, and living perfectly and enriching the systems national industrial property ”.
Spain is constantly among the ten countries with the highest number of applications to the European brand and design systems that are managed in the EUIPO. In 2018 they amounted to 10,377 in the case of European brands and 3,649 in the case of community designs.
The commemorative event took place at the EUIPO headquarters in Alicante, and was attended, among other personalities, by the executive director, Christian Archambeau, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jorma Hanski.