Press Release: Counterfeiting and piracy: the Commission puts forward an ambitious action plan

On 30.11.00, the European Commission adopted a Communication announcing a series of practical measures intended to improve and step up the fight against counterfeiting and piracy in the single market. As part of these measures, the Commission will put forward a proposal for a Directive harmonising the legislation of Member States to strenghten the means of enforcing intellectual property rights and a proposal to extend training activities for officials of supervisory authorities and public information and awareness activities. In a second phase, the Commission will examine setting up mechanisms for administrative cooperation among the Member States to combat this phenomenon and the need to put forward proposals for harmonising the minimum thresholds of sanctions and criminal proceedings and extending Europol's powers. The Communication reports on the results of the consultations held on the basis of a Green Paper published in October 1998 on combating counterfeiting

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