by Edson Luiz Vismona, Evandro Guimarães and Márcio Costa de Menezes e Gonçalves

On December 3, 2015, we celebrate a decade of celebration of the National Day to Combat Piracy, an opportunity that makes us reflect on the progress achieved by our country in relation to the theme.

There is no denying that important advances have taken place, but not at the same speed as this type of crime grows and gains sophistication. We must remember the beginning of the activities of the National Council to Combat Piracy and Crimes against Immaterial Property - CNCP, in February 2005, contemporary to the constitution of the National Forum to Combat Piracy and Illegality - FNCP, an entity that gained much prominence in the confronting the crime of the century, as defined by Interpol.

The union of efforts between the Government and organized civil society, advocated by the CNCP, was the point of conquest of greater prominence, when it explicitly revealed that piracy affects the whole society, without sparing anyone. The Government is affected not only by the loss of revenue, but mainly by seeing piracy as a gateway to other crimes led by dangerous criminal organizations. The legal industry and commerce are severely affected by unfair competition, which has been closing jobs in our country year after year. Finally, consumers are affected by the low quality of counterfeit products, which often affect the safety and health of the population.

That is, only organized crime wins with piracy!

The Federal Revenue, together with the Federal Police and the Federal Highway Police, during these ten years, were the protagonists in facing this nefarious practice, despite a worrying lack of allocation of financial and human resources for the development of this strategic activity, especially with the gigantic our country's borders, which call for attention and for urgent reinforcement in their security and control of goods that are dumped in our market.

The creation of CERAD - National Risk Analysis Management Center, within the scope of the Federal Revenue, deserves a positive highlight, with very effective actions in the defense of fair competition, as well as the thematic Operations led by the Federal Highway Police, OTEFIS, which they traveled through several Brazilian states, training public agents and repressing the transit of illegal goods on our federal roads.

There was a lack of stronger action by States and Municipalities, with very few exceptions, in combating informal trade. Examples of good practices that deserve to be replicated were the actions of the police stations specialized in combating piracy in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco and the Federal District and the city of São Paulo between 2010 and 2012 (today, completely abandoned by the current management).

In the retrospective of these ten years, more striking educational and economic actions were not identified, pillars that would bring a fairer and more balanced competition environment, as well as a faster progress of Law Projects, aimed at Intellectual Property, which have been underway for a long time. our National Congress. Hopefully, with the institution of the Joint Parliamentary Fronts for the Defense of Intellectual Property and Combating Piracy and Combating Smuggling and Counterfeiting, we will be able to advance in the federal legislature. The urgency is great. Perhaps these are fundamental points for us to seek evolution in the next decade, in addition to the repression, which now takes on a different shape.

In fact, we must not forget the need to repress crimes committed in the virtual environment, the so-called electronic crimes, which are growing rapidly and challenging the authorities, technicians and law enforcers. Recent actions led by the Federal Police have dealt a serious blow to gangs that use the digital environment to commit serious crimes against copyright holders. Especially Operations “Fake Sat” and “Blackbeard”, were relentless in facing these crimes, dismantling powerful gangs that committed crimes over the internet, giving society the feeling that there is light at the end of the tunnel. With intelligent and very well articulated actions, we revere the work of the federal authorities involved in conducting these actions.

The crime will not win justice, to paraphrase Minister Carmen Lúcia. The Brazilian legal market must be defended.

For a retrospective of these ten years of the National Day to Combat Piracy, the Brazilian Bar Association, São Paulo Section, together with the National Council to Combat Piracy, will promote, on this December 3rd, in the noble hall of OAB / SP , an important event that will analyze the progress achieved, and the new challenges of the next ten years to come, an event that has the support of several entities that deal with the theme, and that will also bring an interesting exhibition of counterfeit products. It is worth checking.

We will continue to support all manifestations of valorization of Intellectual Property in our country, and may the next decade come!

Edson Luiz Vismona - President of the National Forum Against Piracy and Illegality and of the Instituto Brasil Legal, he was Secretary of Justice and Defense of Citizenship of the State of São Paulo.

Evandro do Carmo Guimaraes - Executive President of the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition - ETCO.

Márcio Costa de Menezes and Gonçalves Partner at Siqueira Castro Advogados, in the area of ​​Intellectual Property, President of ICI - Intellectual Capital Institute, Legal Director of ABRAL - Brazilian Licensing Association, and Deputy Director of International Relations and Foreign Trade at CIESP - Center of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo. He was Executive Secretary of the National Council for Combating Piracy, of the Ministry of Justice.