Piracy attacks consumer and breaks record

Source: Jornal de Brasília (07/05/2018)

Tax fraud is expected to reach R $ 165 billion in 2018. Poor product quality increases losses. Few are punished.

by Jéssica Antunes
jessica.antunes@grupojbr.com

Whether on the stands of the fairs or on store shelves, pirated products gain space in the Federal District. They are counterfeit and smuggled items, which evade taxes and grow without producers, brands and inspection. The Brazilian Association to Combat Counterfeiting (ABCF) estimates that R $ 145 billion in taxes ceased to be collected in Brazil in 2017. It is expected to reach R $ 165 billion this year. Punishment is mild, and recidivism is high. In the capital, the police try to nip the evil in the bud.

The crime of piracy can be classified into two criminal types: violation of copyright or trademark. The first, if there is commercialization, has a penalty of two to four years in prison, but is subject to bail. The second provides for up to one year in prison, and the penalty is usually converted to service provision. According to the Public Security Secretariat, this year there were 22 occurrences related to the two crimes involving the pirate market, with 43 people arrested, according to a preliminary survey by the Civil Police.

The investigation and prosecution of these cases are the responsibility of the Police to Combat Crimes Against Immaterial Property (DCPim). Chief Marcelo Portela says that this type of activity may be related to other crimes, such as bribery of public officials and drug trafficking, for example. Combat is usually done in large operations. “Due to the lack of effectiveness, the actions have to be more certain, detailed and detailed. If there is little ammunition, the shot must be accurate ”.

Most criminals respond in freedom. At the Federal Court of Justice (TJDFT), 179 cases related to intellectual property have been opened since 2016. During the period, 620 were processed and 257 were judged. This year, there have been 21 trials, 171 proceedings and 18 distributions. Most, in all cases and years, refer to copyright infringement.

Historical apprehension

On March 20, the Civil Police made the biggest seizure of pirated CDs and DVDs in the history of the Federal District and dismantled a clandestine factory for mass production of pirated media. Operation Perfídia started at the Imported Fair in Taguatinga and reached a clandestine factory in Itapoã. 30 thousand media, printers, computers and recording towers were seized. At city fairs, backpackers would get up early and line up for supplies.

A woman was caught in the act, but released on bail. According to police officer Portela, she worked with her partner: “They are old people known as distributors. Together, they were arrested 17 times. This time we took the production laboratory ”. According to him, there is the challenge of making operations painful for criminals, "but it is very difficult to stop if it reaches the Judiciary and the person is released".

Sale goes beyond fairs and reaches stores

Counterfeits are produced especially in the Metropolitan Region, but sales take place in broad daylight in illegal and formal businesses in the capital. The concentration is higher in places with high customer movement, such as fairs. Taguatinga has drawn the attention of the police for the marketing of counterfeit or pirated products. A month ago, three regular stores near Feira dos Goianos were booked, and three people caught in the act selling pajamas with Disney designs prints without authorization - considered a violation of trademark rights.

“A self-respecting businessman does not open the door to sell pirated or smuggled goods. I feel obliged to say that this is not a businessman, he is a criminal ”, shoots the president of the Commercial Association of DF, Cléber Pires. He says he has no knowledge of marketing these products in legal establishments and asks that complaints be made. “All piracy immediately affects the local economy. In addition to an affront to society, it causes loss of revenue, job creation, in the production chain ”, he says.

From the point of view of legality, trade and the economy are directly affected. For Adelmir Santana, president of the Federation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (Fecomércio), it is necessary to stimulate customer education. “Often, consumers focus only on costs. But these products are beyond the control of the State, do not pay taxes and the difference is very large. In addition to health risk, the person strengthens the piracy market ”, he says.

Cigarettes on top of smuggling and embezzlement

and ammunition cross the Brazilian borders illegally for smuggling and embezzlement. The estimate is that the illegal trade generates R $ 130 billion in losses to the Brazilian productive sectors annually, but the confrontation comes up against the feeling of impunity and restricted police action due to low personnel.

In Brazil and the DF, Paraguayan cigarettes have a higher volume in smuggling seizures. In the capital, products usually arrive on the roads to the Metropolitan Region, from where the products are distributed. According to the head of DCPim, sales in commercial establishments in the capital are veiled. Last October, a deposit with approximately 15 packs of smuggled cigarettes from Paraguay was found in Ceilandia.

According to the Federal Highway Police, there were more than five thousand items of clothing, one hundred units of cosmetics, 15 boxes of medicines and more than three thousand others not cataloged seized on the federal highways that cut the DF and Entorno in 2017, framed in the two criminal types .

Since 2014, smuggling and embezzlement crimes have been distinguished by Brazilian law. The first consists of importing and exporting prohibited products and is punishable by two to five years in prison. The other deals with the non-payment of taxes for the entry or exit of products, as in the case of buying electronics on international trips, with a maximum penalty of four years. Generally, both are practiced at the same time.

Low feather

Luciano Godoy, lawyer and professor at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), points out that smugglers do not feel cornered by the possibility of punishment. “As the sentences are very low, most people do not even serve in a closed regime”, he says. General Secretary of the Association of Federal Judges (Ajufe), Fernando Mendes believes that there are not yet “enough tools to combat macro-crime, and the judicial model contributes to the inefficiency of the result”.

President of the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (Etco) and of the National Forum Against Piracy and Illegality (FNCP), Edson Vismona does not consider it fair that traders have to pay all fees and compete with those who do not do the same. "It is disloyal," he says.

Learn more

- The smuggled products seized by the Civil Police of the Federal District are passed on to the Federal Revenue Service; counterfeits are available to the courts.
- Those who buy pirated products do not commit crime, but they can face problems. Toys may contain small or loose parts, causing risk to children.
- Anabolics, cosmetics and alcoholic beverages can have harmful components to health. Shoes are of low quality and can cause damage to the spine and knee. Electronics can even explode.
- For a week, Jornal de Brasília asked the Federal Police and the Federal Highway Police for amounts of seizures, but did not receive a return until the closing of this issue. The TJDFT also did not report on the proceedings initiated and the sentences passed.

Tips

- When buying a product, observe the packaging. The counterfeit is never exactly the same as the original.
- Be wary if the advertised price is far below that found in other stores or websites.
- Observe the place where the product is sold, because there are brands sold only by accredited stores.
- Always ask for invoice and guarantee of return and exchange

 

To access the article in the Jornal de Brasília, click here

 

OAB / RJ promotes event on the National Day to Combat Piracy

On December 04th, the OAB / RJ Commission on Industrial Law and Piracy, chaired by lawyer Paulo Parente Marques Mendes, promotes the seminar "Is it possible to stop piracy?" in celebration of the National Day to Combat Piracy, day 3.

The date is celebrated 12 years ago and is a way to raise awareness and warn about the dangers of buying and consuming counterfeit products.

According to the president of CPIP, the event, held for the second year at the headquarters of the OAB in Rio de Janeiro, is a way of bringing together specialists from different areas to question the feasibility and solutions to end the practice in all sectors. "The commission wants to question the behavior of society and encourage consumers to adhere to the habit of buying the original product", he highlights.

In 2016 alone, the illegal market moved 130 billion reais, according to data from the National Forum to Combat Piracy and Illegality (FNCP). The reasons for the free commercialization of these products vary, but Parente warns that the low price, the biggest attraction, is also one of the main risks for the consumer. “With the trade in these goods, everyone loses. The State loses, the country loses, the entrepreneur loses and society loses too, since in this way the State fails to collect wealth, reducing the collection of taxes and, with that, the amount of jobs generated ”, he warns. In addition to the impact on the economy, consumers may be putting their own health at risk, since counterfeit products do not pass the technical quality certifications required for use by the general population. Cigarettes, watches, bags, pharmaceuticals, automotive parts and eyewear are among the most smuggled products.

Luiz Otávio Pimentel, president of the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI), will also participate in the debate panels; Edson Vismona, president of  (ETCO) and the National Forum Against Piracy and Illegality; Sydney Sanches, chairman of the Copyright, Immaterial and Entertainment Commission of OAB / RJ; Deborah Portilho, president of the Fashion Law Commission - CDMO of OAB / RJ and Felipe Santa Cruz, president of OAB / RJ, among other specialized institutions. A symbolic destruction of counterfeit goods will end the program.

Complete schedule: http://www.oabrj.org.br/evento/20312-pirataria-palestra
Date: December 4, from 8:30 am to 13:30 pm
Location: OAB / RJ - Avenida Marechal Câmara, 150, 4th floor - Plenary Evandro Lins e Silva

São Paulo City Hall launches the SP Legal Program

PHOTO DORIA

In a meeting with Mayor Dória and secretaries of Urban Security, Social Assistance, Innovation and Technology, Justice, Invest São Paulo and Sub-City Halls, on May 31, representatives of the Legal Brazil Movement, led by ETCO and FNCP, discussed Defense of Legality and social action in the city of São Paulo.

As a result, the SP Legal Program will be launched by the City Hall, in partnership with the Brasil Legal Movement, a series of actions in defense of the legal market in the city.

 

Entities denounce that contraband causes loss of R $ 130 billion to Brazil

Minister of Justice, Osmar Serraglio / Photo: Fabio Pozzebom (Agência Brasil)
Minister of Justice, Osmar Serraglio / Photo: Fabio Pozzebom (Agência Brasil)

The Mixed Parliamentary Front to Combat Smuggling and Counterfeiting and the National Movement in Defense of the Brazilian Legal Market launched today (29) the campaign “The Brazil we want”, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice. The goal is to curb the practice of smuggling in Brazil.

According to the entities, in 2016, the illegal market generated losses of R $ 130 billion for the country, losses of productive sectors, such as tobacco and clothing and tax evasion. The campaign takes place in conjunction with more than 70 business entities and civil society organizations affected by illegal smuggling practices.

The increase in these practices results from a combination of factors: increased taxes, economic crisis and fragile borders. For this reason, "attacking contraband is an extremely effective measure for economic recovery and it works hard to end trafficking and crime in cities".

For the president of the Parliamentary Front to Combat Smuggling and Counterfeiting, federal deputy Efraim Filho (DEM / PB), fighting smuggling does not just mean curbing street vendors. "The fight against smuggling starts at the borders, with intelligence work, and advancing on an important tripod: human, financial and technological resources", he said. According to him, the costs of more than R $ 1 million per day in border operations are, in fact, investments, since the collection grows ten times more after that.

Condescending Culture

In addition, according to Efraim, it is necessary to combat the population's condescending culture with smuggling. “People consider it a less offensive potential crime because the view we have is of the CD and DVD seller, or of handbags and clothing brands. But when we break this superficial layer, we see something that is extremely aggressive and harmful to society, that deteriorates formal work, finances drug trafficking and creates a risk to the integrity and health of the consumer ”, said the deputy, referring, for example , to counterfeit and smuggled drugs, drinks and toys.

The Minister of Justice, Osmar Serraglio, signed a protocol of intentions with the main measures and actions for inspection and repression against smuggling.

Among the priority objectives of the term are to identify financial resources for investment in human and technological resources; provide technical and operational support to the execution of the National Border Plan, with special attention to economic and social actions and the inspection of the border between Brazil and Paraguay; foster international and legislative debate; and sensitize society about the impacts of illegality with the aim of generating changes in the consumption of illegal products.

For the coordinator of the National Movement in Defense of the Brazilian Legal Market, Edson Vismona, the signed protocol points out the paths and where are the resources for investment in technology and human resources.

“We want there to be practical actions, diagnoses we all already have. We suggest the creation of border offices uniting the agencies so that they identify in the thousands of inquiries who are the suppliers, we have to qualify the information so that we can go to the root of who is operating this illegal trade ”, he said.

According to the director of the Brazilian Association to Combat Counterfeiting, Rodolpho Ramazzini, the sector that loses the most from smuggling and counterfeiting is that of cigarettes, with losses of R $ 5 billion, followed by auto parts, with R $ 3 billion, in addition to other segments. “Brazil has 16 thousand kilometers of border with the bordering countries, in which we only have 24 checkpoints. In all of our ports, we do not have 3 agents to carry out container clearance. Anything enters Brazil. The few inspectors who work well, learn a lot, but it is very close to what should be done to have more fair competition in the market ”.

He pointed out that the economic crisis and the high taxes were the factors that contributed to the growth in consumption of this material, but stressed that the consumer loses twice when buying products from this source. “In the case of cigarettes, drinks, auto parts, fuel, medicine, hygiene and cleaning products, hospital surgical products, in addition to the financial loss for the government and industry, these products will always cause damage to health or for consumer safety because they are made with poor quality raw materials and without sanitary control. ”

Mobilizations throughout the day

Today, a task force is being carried out to destroy contraband products seized by the Federal Revenue Service, in São Paulo and Foz do Iguaçu. More than 12 tons of cigarettes are expected to be destroyed during the day.

As part of the campaign's activities, the entities also present until March 31, at the National Congress, the mini-exhibition “Cidade do Contrabando”, which simulates the possible improvements if the smuggling and the trade of illegal products were extinguished.

According to the entity, with R $ 130 billion, it would be possible to build more than a thousand hospitals, or 65 thousand daycare centers or 1,36 million popular homes, or even 25 thousand public schools.

 

* Collaborated with Flavia Albuquerque, from São Paulo 

Ftone: Agência Brasil (29/03/17)

 

For ETCO Institute, government is attentive in the fight against smuggling

Border Control

Every year, about R $ 100 billion in illegal products enter the country. Entrepreneurs say, however, they see in the current government the “coordination of efforts” necessary to reduce the problem.

On a visit to the acting president, Michel Temer, the president of the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (Etco), Evandro Guimarães, on Thursday (28) expressed the entity's “satisfaction” with the government's policy in combating piracy, contraband, tax evasion and other “business transgressions”.

“The visit took place with the objective of recording the commitment and receptivity that the team of the current government has had to our suggestions and to the attentive attention to the possibility of combating these illicitudes that bring damage to the collection and important damage to the fair competition between products, ”said Evandro Guimarães.

The “conservative” estimate, according to him, is that the equivalent of R $ 100 billion in illegal products will enter the country every year. More than the loss of federal revenue from these products, which do not pay taxes, Evandro mentions another evil associated with smuggling: unfair competition with legalized companies, which creates unemployment and legal insecurity.

Willingness to listen

Although the challenge of circumventing this problem is “enormous”, says Evandro, the government of the incumbent president, Michel Temer, has demonstrated, in two and a half months, a willingness to listen to the affected companies and determined that the competent bodies act to create barriers to smuggling, with greater action by agencies such as the Federal Police, Highway and constant inspection by the Federal Revenue.

“[We have noticed that] the government is aware of the issue. The Ministry of Justice, the Federal Revenue Service and the areas that are interested in coordinating efforts to reduce this phenomenon. [The attention] is very great, it is very new and is very much welcomed ”, he evaluated.

Source: Blog do Planalto (28/07)

 

 

Experts discuss new IP system for computers

Anatel guarantees that IP sharing will only be done during the transition to the new system, and that it is possible to identify those investigated in cyber crimes

The Social Communication Council discussed on Monday (7) the update of the IP system on the Brazilian Internet. In June last year, the system used to designate IP addresses (Ipv4) in Brazil was exhausted due to the more intense use of the Internet, mainly in mobile telephony. Since then, the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), the Internet Steering Committee and telecommunications operators have discussed how to transition to a new system (Ipv6) with an almost unlimited number, because each device connected to the Internet must have a number IP address.

Alex Ferreira / Chamber of Deputies
Seminar “Transition from IPv4 to IPv6: access, privacy and deterrence”

Until the transition to the new system occurs, Anatel authorized the sharing of IP numbers, that is, a group of users simultaneously using the same system address. This sharing was severely criticized by the Public Ministry in the CPI of the Chamber that investigates cyber crimes for making it difficult to identify computers and investigated users.

The representative of Anatel who spoke on Monday (7) to the Social Communication Council, Rodrigo Zerbone, pointed out that IP sharing is temporary, only during the transition to the new system, and that it is possible for the authorities to identify those investigated. in cyber crimes.

“Although there are 4 people sharing this IP address, there are other technical elements that can identify that person, that device, that specific terminal. This is being used by public security agencies to be able to identify perpetrators of crimes and other illicit acts. There are elements for identification, this obviously makes it a little more complex, but we have to deal with this, because the number of IPvXNUMX addresses, which is the old version, has already been exhausted; so we have to work with sharing inexorably ”

Anatel has already published an ordinance with rules for certification of equipment that meet the two IP systems and establishes deadlines for the exchange to be made by telecommunications operators.

Vice-president of the Social Communication Council, Ronaldo Lemos wants to expand the discussion on the topic. “This is a topic that cannot be analyzed only in the criminal aspect. As this seminar made clear, this is a topic that has to do with digital inclusion, with entrepreneurship, with access to information. Other dimensions need to be included in the debate. It runs the risk, for example, of generating exorbitant costs especially for small providers, for small sites that are not the world's providers, which are stronger than small ones ”.

All agents working on the Internet - users, connection and content providers, the government itself and the legislature - will have to update the IP system.

Source: Agência Câmara de Notícias (7/12)

The National Day to Combat Piracy

December 3 - National Day to Combat Piracy

 

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.

Registrations extended for the 5th edition of the National Piracy Combat Award

The National Council for Combating Piracy and Crimes Against Intellectual Property (CNCP) extended the registration for the 5th edition of the National Piracy Combat Award. Those interested in participating can register until the day December 31, 2015.

The purpose of the event is to recognize public and private entities that stood out in the effective fight against piracy and the illegal market, who can compete with your projects on the axes educational / preventive,economic ou repressive.

Actions carried out in any community in Brazil, whose focus has been on tackling piracy and other crimes against intellectual property, during October 2014 to September 2015

Form of inscrição

Brazil

Categories

According to the resolution of the event, PNCP 2015 will be divided into three axes: educational / preventive actions; economic; and repressive. At the educational axis projects aimed at awareness consumers and public bodies in relation to harms of piracy and the importance of purchasing original products.

Now at economic axis, initiatives aimed at strengthen the business environment and legal security in Brazil, including digital environment, with regard to intellectual property. THE repressive axis, in turn, intends to put into practice projects that improve measures to repress violations against intellectual property.

However, registration in more than one category is prohibited. Each action taken must be analyzed in accordance with the following evaluation criteria: impact and benefit to society; impact and benefit toeconomy; innovation and creativity the initiative; planning and coordination; and, finally, potential forexample and motivation.

The criteria will be evaluated by scores from zero to five. In addition, each division will have up to three winners who will be classified as Gold for the first, Prata for the second and Bronze for third place. For a stock of a particular category to be awarded it will need to obtain a minimum score of 2,5.

All registered shares that reach the minimum score of 2.5 will be divided into the North, Northeast, Midwest, South and Southeast regions, and the share with the highest score in each region will receive an award of regional highlight.

 

Source: Thinking the Law (12/11)

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