A larger number of companies in Europe, Russia and Brazil are expected to collaborate with customs authorities to fight against counterfeiting in the framework of the Brussels-based World Customs Organization (WCO), in addition to big players such as Adidas, Nike or Lacoste, which are already using its systems.
A memorandum of understanding was signed to this effect last April 25 during the 7th Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting in Istanbul by Kunio Mikuriya, secretary general of the WCO, Frank Dassler, president of the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (Fesi), André Raduan, executive director of the Brazilian Sporting Goods Industry Association (Move) and Vyacheslav Strashinov, president of the Russian Association of Sports Industry Enterprises (Rasie). The latter was represented by an official from Sportmaster.
The four sports industry associations have negotiated discounted rates for their members to register on the Interface Public-Members, or IPM, which is the online interface of the WCO between customs and the private sector. Their members are also going to train customs officers prior to major sports events, where lots of fakes tend to flood the market. The Russian and Brazilian associations were particularly keen to participate in these initiatives because of the upcoming Olympic Games in Sochi and Brazil.
