The 2008 High Level Conference on Counterfeiting and Piracy took place in Brussels on 13 May. Enterprise Policy Director Luc Hendrickx took the floor on behalf of SMEs in a panel dedicated to the implications of counterfeiting and piracy for European competitiveness.
The fight against counterfeiting so far has been led with the misleading assumption that it only affects luxury goods and textiles, he said. Against this background, awareness raising activities are needed to inform consumers and involve SMEs, which may under-estimate the impact of counterfeiting on their business and which are often not in the position to protect their intellectual property rights, nor to follow the related legal procedures.