ICCE is a necessity in a world where some people are primarily motivated by greed. Their drive to make 'easy money' sometimes appears relentless, but with increased focus and desire by brand owners, enforcement authorities and legislators, more and more of these criminals are being brought to justice.

The European Commission recently commented "Counterfeiting and piracy are generally accompanied by deliberate cheating of the consumer as to the quality he/she is entitled to expect from a product bearing, for instance a famous brand name, since counterfeit or pirated products are produced without checks made by the competent authorities and do not comply with the minimum quality standard. Apart from these drawbacks, the phenomenon may pose a real threat to the health of the consumer or to his safety. (Directive of the European Parliament And of the Council 30/01/2003)

So, this sets the scene for the criminal world of fakes. It is no longer a myth that organised crime often lays the foundations for the prevalence of counterfeit in all areas of manufacture. We all now accept that this is part and parcel of the problem.

Again the European Commission note, "Counterfeiting and piracy thus appear to be a factor in promoting crime, including terrorism".

The consequences become increasingly dire as further thought is given to this problematic arena. For example, according to a study carried out in June 2000 by the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group ’Economic Impact of Counterfeiting in Europe’, more than 17,000 jobs were said to have been lost per year in the European Union because of counterfeiting and piracy activities.

The European Commission Press Release (24th of November 2003), confirms the growth of mass consumer market counterfeit products, and notes that Customs seized 85 million counterfeit/pirated goods at the external EU border in 2002 and 50 million in the first half of 2003.

So how can you help us in our fight? If you are a serious player in the supplies channel you may wish to join the ICCE Partner Program. At the very least we require your vigilance and support and welcome reports of this illegal activity in our industry.

We look forward to your assistance. In the meantime, we hope the ICCE site is informative.

Jag Gill
Director of Legal and Marketing Affairs EMEA

Phil Scrase
Chairman and Director

"...It is no longer a myth that organised crime often lays the foundations for the prevalence of counterfeit in all areas of manufacture..."