In 2003, CIPR was named "Association of the Year" by the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group for "outstanding achievements in the fight against counterfeits in Russia, the CIS and Baltic states."

Client:

The Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR), a private-public partnership seeking to advance intellectual property rights protection, enforcement and reform in the countries of the former Soviet Union and the Baltic states. CIPR's Corporate Members include some of the world's most famous trademark, patent and brand owners and its Associate Members represent nearly 40 major international and regional business and professional groups.
 

The Assignment:

Patent violations, trademark infringements and counterfeits are rampant problems in the FSU and Baltic states. In Russia alone, IP violations cost the Russian government and international and Russian corporations over $2 billion a year. Five years ago, many of PBN's long-standing corporate clients turned to The PBN Company to address this growing epidemic.
 

PBN’s Strategy:

PBN decided that a cooperative, collaborative effort with the governments of the region would yield results. So, we created CIPR, a nonprofit organization with the guiding principle is that governments and the private sector must work together as partners to achieve effective intellectual property rights protection and enforcement.
 

Results:

Through an aggressive program of advocacy, enforcement, legislative and regulatory reforms, training, research and public education, CIPR has delivered impressive and tangible results. The most important are the numerous IP problems of our corporate members that have been resolved, including those of Coca-Cola, Diageo, Anheuser Busch, Intel, Microsoft and many others.

A few other CIPR results include:

• Comprehensive legislation has already passed in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Latvia.

• CIPR has provided information to customs officials throughout the region needed to seize counterfeit products, including the first large-scale destruction of than 25 million fake cigarettes.

• CIPR conducted groundbreaking research on Russian consumers' experiences with counterfeit products and quantitative studies of the fiscal impact of IP violations and counterfeits on businesses and governments in Russia, Ukraine and Latvia.

• CIPR has issued comprehensive Bench memoranda for supreme courts and arbitration courts throughout the region.

• CIPR is chairing the Interpol Intellectual Property Crime Action Group's Public Awareness Subcommittee, which is working with Interpol to develop its anti-counterfeiting public awareness programs.

• CIPR publishes CIPReport, a definitive overview of IP issues in the region.

• CIPR is the only outside observer to the CIS Interstate Council on Industrial Property Rights, an organization of 12 patent and trademark offices from the region.

• CIPR partners with organizations and governments throughout the region and world to coordinate on the IPR protection and anti-counterfeiting efforts, including the World Intellectual Property Organization, World Customs Organization, International Trademark Association, Interpol, and many others.

For more information, please contact:
Peter.Necarsulmer@pbnco.com