SACG celebrated its 20th anniversary with a well-attended seminar in connection with its annual meeting held on 14 June 2017, where a new board of directors and an honorary member was appointed.

A new board of directors for the SACG was appointed at the annual meeting. The board now consists of Advokat Erik Ficks (Roschier), Advokat Sara Sparring (Synch), Advokat Ludvig Holm (Lindahl), Omar Baki (Brann), Nina Ebkar (Electrolux), Jesper Sundström (Zacco), Karin Crafoord (Groth & Co), Lena Johansson (ICC), Maria Herlitz Sundelius (H&M), Måns Sjöstrand (Daniel Wellington), Associate Professor Stojan Arnerstål (Uppsala University, IMK), and Professor Sanna Wolk (Uppsala University, IMK).

It was also decided to appoint the first honorary member of the SACG, namely Advokat Ann-Charlotte Söderlund Björk (Gozzo), who was chair of the SACG from its formation until 2015. At their subsequent initial board meeting, the new board appointed Erik Ficks as chair, Sara Sparring as vice chair, Ludvig Holm as secretary, and Omar Baki as treasurer.

”I’m delighted to have the opportunity to chair the SACG in the year it celebrates its 20th anniversary and in the years to come. The trade in counterfeit products presents constant challenges and, in recent times, digital trade has made it more difficult than ever for rights holders and consumers to identify and combat counterfeiting, whilst, at the same time, there has been an increased awareness that lawful trade is a prerequisite for, among other things, sustainability in production. The SACG has a hugely important role to play, not only when it comes to legislation and policy, but above all when it comes to assisting in disseminating information, an example being our efforts to assist rights holders to provide information to the police and customs authorities to identify counterfeit goods,” says Erik Ficks.

”It gives me an enormous amount of pleasure to have the opportunity to see the SACG continue to develop and act as a strong presence in this important area. I think that the new board has everything it needs to take our previous efforts forward into the increasingly digital reality. Naturally, I’m also honoured to accept this appointment and look forward to supporting the board’s activities as best as I can, both in Sweden and globally”, says Ann-Charlotte Söderlund Björk.

The SACG counts as members close to 50 Swedish and foreign companies, as well as a number of individuals. For a long time now, the SACG has been actively involved in the activities of the European Observatory on Infringements in IPR, at the EUIPO in Alicante.

A diverse range of GAC Awards were announced on 7th June 2017 on World Anti-Counterfeiting Day. The eight winners represent a broad spectrum of anti-counterfeiting and IPR enforcement activities from the continuing success of national customs services to the growing importance of international co-operation to combat fraud linked with IP Crime. The significant contribution of pro-active law enforcement agencies; a new initiative in Public Awareness of the damages of counterfeiting and piracy; and the growing sophistication of product security technology are also recognised. The 2017 GAC Award Winners

”Every April 26, we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day to learn about the role that intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright) play in encouraging innovation and creativity.

This year, we’ll explore how innovation is making our lives healthier, safer, and more comfortable, turning problems into progress. We’ll look at how the intellectual property system supports innovation by attracting investment, rewarding creators, encouraging them to develop their ideas, and ensuring that their new knowledge is freely available so that tomorrow’s innovators can build on today’s new technology.”- WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) World IP day

SACG yttrar sig över betänkandet ”En känneteckensrättslig reform” (SOU 2016:79) i de delar som SACG bedömer att förslagen berör varumärkesförfalskade varor. SACG:s yttrande

SACG har lämnat sina synpunkter på Mediegrundlagskommitténs betänkande ”Ändrade mediegrundlagar”. Föreningen delar Kommitténs bedömning att införandet av neutrala tobaksförpackningar kräver en ändring i tryckfrihetsförordningen men är starkt kritiskt till Betänkandets förslag som SACG menar kommer att öka risken för piratkopiering av tobaksprodukter och handeln med piratkopierade varor. SACG:s yttrande

Inför julen köper miljontals människor i hela EU julklappar till familj och vänner. De negativa ekonomiska effekterna av förfalskade varor och piratkopiering varar dock hela året. xmas-campaign-press-release-with-national-data

Många frestas att köpa billiga piratkopior av dyra lyxvaror som kläder, väskor och solglasögon från marknader och gatuförsäljare. Men bortsett från att det kan vara olagligt att köpa fejkprodukter, så göder man indirekt den organiserade brottsligheten genom sitt köp. Intervju med Henrik Wistam, ordf. SACG

SACG har lämnat sina synpunkter på utredningen om en ny svensk tobakslag i de delar som berör piratkopiering. Föreningen är positiv till förslaget om ökad spårbarhet och märkning men motsätter sig utredningens förslag om exponeringsförbud då detta strider mot tryckfriheten och som i kombination med neutrala förpackningar skulle underlätta för piratkopiering av och olaglig handel med tobaksprodukter. SACG:s yttrande

”At the 2016 Global Anti-Counterfeiting (GAC) Awards, WIPO’s Building Respect for Intellectual Property (BRIP) Division received the International Public Body Award. The GAC Awards, organized by the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group (GACG) and Managing Intellectual Property, recognize special achievements by organizations, companies and individuals active in the fight against counterfeiting”. WIPO

Den 8 juni uppmärksammar vi World Anti-Counterfeiting Day! Global Anti-Counterfeiting Network