On December 17, 2020, IPIC submitted a White Paper to Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair concerning the Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) Request for Assistance (RFA) program. The White Paper, drafted by the Anti-Counterfeiting Committee, discusses the successes and limitations of the RFA program, and recommends solutions to make the program more responsive and less burdensome for all stakeholders, including government agencies, brand owners, and individual border officers.

Global companies are pivoting production lines to help address an increased need for personal protective equipment (PPE) in Canada. These efforts exemplify integrity and willingness to work towards a greater good. However, there has been no shortage of bad actors looking to profit in this crisis.

When developing strategies to address counterfeit goods, a great place to start is the border. Curbing the importation of counterfeits is vital in the fight to keep consumers safe from dangerous products. In 2015, Canada’s Border Services Agency (CBSA) introduced the Request for Assistance (RFA) program - read on to learn more.

On December 20, 2017, the Court of Appeal in Stockholm, Sweden, convicted 20 people for fraud in relation to sending fake invoices to applicants who had previously applied to register Community trademarks with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (“OHIM”, now the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)). From 2011 to 2014, the fraudsters sent hundreds of fake invoices under the misleading name “OMIH” that appeared to have been sent by the OHIM to recipients in various countries.