Everyone has definitely received an e-mail offering counterfeit Viagra with discounted price. Luckily most people are not brave enough to test the quality of the offer. The same is true with the “counterfeit” alcohols sold on the streets throughout the world, but especially in the former Soviet block. Ethanol changed to methanol does not invite to drink at least if one still retains some sense of self-protection. However, these simple cases of health threatening counterfeits are not the only available reality anymore: nicely packed counterfeits of life saving drugs have entered to the Seoul pharmacies and genuine looking bottles of fake expensive whiskeys are available in respectable “Hofs” around the city. Hence, the EUCCK IPR E-Newsletter continues last month’s cover story of safety and health threatening counterfeits by introducing the health hazard caused by the counterfeit pharmaceuticals.   EU Declares War Against Counterfeiters There has been a whopping 1000% increase in counterfeit seizures made by EU customs between 1998 and 2004. These seizures amount to over 100 million articles annually but still represent only the tip of the fake iceberg. In addition to the impact on jobs, health, safety and competitiveness, much of this traffic is sold on the black market, which means major losses in tax revenues. The fake industry also leads to unlawful employment and is reported to have links to illegal immigration and to transnational organised crime.   EU Customs Seized Counterfeits in Operation “Fake” Almost 30.000 counterfeit batteries at the port of Thessaloniki, 60.000 light bulbs at Gioia Tauro in Italy, several hundreds of thousands of packets of counterfeit branded cigarettes at the port of Antwerp and tonnes and tonnes of counterfeit clothing all over Europe: these are just some of the wide range of counterfeit products netted by the customs operation “FAKE”.   International Conference on IP of Software The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) and the Computer Program Deliberation & Mediation Committee (PDMC) arranged an international conference with the topic “The Current Status and Issues on IP of Software” on Thursday, November 10. Full day Seminar introduced speakers from WIPO, APEC, and China, among others.   Kimchi upgraded to an International Name Kimchi, Korea's traditional haute cuisine, is quite near a position on the Nice Classification that is an international classification of goods and services adopted by and applicable to most countries of the world for the international registration of marks. The Korean Intellectual Property Office revealed that the inclusion of the English-spelt "kimchi" in the Nice Classification scheduled for January 1, 2007, would help the food redeem its international recognition that has been tarnished by the safety issue of the Chinese-made kimchi.   Korea Catching Up with Netherlands in PCT Applications With 3/4 year statistically behind the Korean PCT applications are picking up tremendously, with the correction of the time delay and overall high percentage growth compared to other countries. In fact Korea is now close to catching up the PCT amounts of the Netherlands, which is currently placed 6th in the international rankings.   Only 39 Percent of the Korean Patents Utilized It appeared that only 39% of the Korean patents have been utilized by industry. In the Inspection of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) by the National Assembly, Han, Byoung-do (The URI Party) and Lee, kyu taek (Grand National Party), congressmen of the National Assembly Commerce, Industry, and Energy Committee, asserted that the utilization rate of Korean patents by industry was only 38.9% in 2004.       KCS Declare All-Out War Against Counterfeit Goods     The KCS is playing an active role in the national battle for IPR protection by controlling the spread of counterfeits or copyright infringing items found at the borders of Korea. The director general emphasized the fact that the KCS declared an all-out war on counterfeiting by announcing a 'Comprehensive IPR Protection     Plan' in July this year and successfully revealing 11 million USD     worth of counterfeit goods by the following September.   IPR Committee Joint Dialogue with KIPO Mr. Jong-Kap Kim, Commissioner of KIPO met with the representatives of foreign companies, which have issues in the IPR sector on Thursday, November 10. Strong EUCCK representation questioned Commissioner Kim about the cooperation among the Korean government in the IP protection.   IPR Networking Postponed Due to the scheduling problems the Network Club Night sponsored by the IPR Committee member companies was postponed until next year. Originally the event was supposed to take place on October 26. As said, the IPR Network Club will take place early next year and the EUCCK will invite also Korean government officials related to IPR issues to participate in this event, which is held in a casual and friendly atmosphere. One of the main ideas of the Network evening will be the enhancement of the cooperation between private entities and the government in the IPR protection.     KIPO Established a Research Society for Medicine Invention The Korean Intellectual Property Office(KIPO) established Korea’s ‘Research Society for Medicine Invention’ to explore the ways to improve its current medicine invention patent system. The Society will conduct research in the principal issues of developed nations’ medicine invention system such as their protection range and required items in making specifications. It also plans to investigate development and dispute cases of Korean pharmaceutical companies with regard to medicine invention.     EU Commissioner: EU Lags Behind in Music IP Charlie McCreevy, European Commissioner for Internal Markets and Services: The digital market for music was worth $330 million in 2004 estimates expect it to double in 2005. Analysts predict that digital sales could read 25% of record company revenues in five years. 50 million portable music players were sold in 2004, including 10 million i-pods. All players in the industry stand to benefit from this growth. But Europe does not appear to be making the most of these new opportunities and, unless it is better equipped to exploit this potential fully, it will continue to lag behind.   EUCC in China Conducted a Comparative Study on IP Protection The European Chamber of Commerce in China has conducted a comparative research on the legislation protecting IPR in EU and in China. Furthermore this study researches the enforcement efforts of the mentioned legislations. According to EUCCC’s research detailed IPR enforcement actions vary from one country to another, but the basic principles are the same.   EU-China Talks Focus on Doha and IPR The EU Commission and China are committed to working together to improve access for EU companies to the Chinese market, and to improve the protection of intellectual property rights in China to give extra confidence to EU investors, according to recent joint meetings. EU-China joint discussions also addressed the issue of high Chinese tariffs on Europe automobile parts ? an important problem for EU exporters.   Italy to Host Symposium on Fashion and Intellectual Property WIPO, the Ministry of Productive Activities of Italy, and the Italian Institute for Industrial Promotion will host an international symposium on the importance of intellectual property for the textile and clothing industry. These sectors are heavily reliant on the development of innovative designs and original creative expressions for their success.   IP Due Diligence - A Necessity, Not a Luxury A Properly conducted Due Diligence Search can benefit both seller and buyer and may lead to long- term relationships and business synergies.       Atari Korea     Business: Computer Games Major IPR Counterparts: MCT, SPO, and KNPA IPR Committee Participant: Mr. Scott Millard, General Manager & IPR Committee Vice-Chairman     Computer Games: Important Issues to Solve Q: Name 3 major IPR issues Atari would like to see solved during 2006? A:The same three as always: 1. A Crackdown on Yongsan Electronics Market 2. Portals/ISP’s Liable for illegal files traded on their servers 3. A legal ruling that would see the modification of games machines, to accommodate pirated discs, to be illegal.     Korea Customs Service (KCS)     The Significance of Parallel Import EUCCK: What is the significance of parallel imports in Korea? Mr. Kyu Chan Cho, Parallel Import Specialist of the Fair Trade Division: Currently we provide the EUCCK with the PI information of quantity, import frequency, import date, HS Code and the name of the brand, which is used to oversee the PI trend for each company. The feedback the EUCCK gives us on suspicious counts is used to keep track on potential counterfeit routes and we keep record of the importers of suspicious counterfeits to take punitive actions when we need to.   Cover Story Health Endangered Trying to Find the Cure... News in brief EU Declares War Against Counterfeiters EU Customs Seized Counterfeits in Operation “Fake” International Conference on IP of Software Kimchi upgraded to an International Name Korea Catching Up with Netherlands in PCT Applications Only 39 Percent of the Korean Patents Utilized IPR Committee News KCS Declare All-Out War Against Counterfeit Goods IPR Committee Joint Dialogue with KIPO IPR Networking Postponed Government Flash KIPO Established a Research Society for Medicine Invention Outside Korea EU Commissioner: EU Lags Behind in Music IP EUCC in China Conducted a Comparative Study on IP Protection EU-China Talks Focus on Doha and IPR Italy to Host Symposium on Fashion and Intellectual Property IP Due Diligence - A Necessity, Not a Luxury Member Profile Atari Korea Computer Games: Important Issues to Solve Counterpart The Significance of Parallel Import Did you know? What does a geographical indication do?   This Newsletter will be free of charge only for the Intellectual Property Rights Committee member companies and for selected EU-officials. Others can subscribe this monthly E-newsletter and the IPR Committee Internet service with an annual fee of 350,000 KRW. You can subscribe by contacting Mr. Antti Niemela of EUCCK at niemela@eucck.org. Please give us your comments about IPR E-newsletter by e-mail niemela@eucck.org.         What does a geographical indication do?     A geographical indication points to a specific place or region of production that determines the characteristic qualities of the product that originates from there. It is important that the product derives its qualities and reputation from that place. Since those qualities depend on the geographical place of production, a specific “link” exists between the products and their original place of production. In other words, geographical indication is kind of “natural trademark” of a product, which should be protected by the IP related degrees.