AfrIPI supports North African countries in the fight against counterfeiting and the enforcement of intellectual property rights

From 12 to 14 September 2023 AfrIPI, in partnership with the Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle (INPI France) and the Institut National de la Normalisation et de la Propriété Industrielle (INNORPI), has organised an international seminar on the fight against counterfeiting and the enforcement of intellectual property, in Tunis, Tunisia.

Regulatory authorities, right holders, and players involved in the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in North African countries, in particular Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, attended this event. The focus was on raising awareness about the importance of intellectual property, as well as the major role of each player in the fight against counterfeiting. It also sought to initiate a dialogue between the main stakeholders so that they could share their experiences, identify the factors that encourage counterfeiting, and discuss effective techniques and strategies for detecting, monitoring, and investigating IPR infringements.

The aim of this seminar was to facilitate the setting up of informal networks between the participating authorities in order to promote a memorandum of understanding between the various customs directorates in North African countries. It will enable rights holders, authorities, and international institutions to examine solutions to the problem of the ecological destruction of seized counterfeit goods and to set up a project for recycling counterfeit products in the North African zone.

This event follows on from two previous activities. The consultative round table on IPR enforcement for North African countries held on 23 and 24 February 2022, organised online by AfrIPI, and the international seminar on Anti-Counterfeiting and Intellectual Property: Impacts on the Economy and the Environment, which took place on 28 and 29 November 2022 in Algiers, Algeria.  Its purpose is to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders and raise awareness of IPR enforcement issues.