U.S. Embassy, Mexican Customs Organize a Customs Forum on Intellectual Property

Eighty Mexican customs and other government officials from across the country will gather in Monterrey on February 4-6, 2009, to participate in a forum on the latest techniques to protect and enforce intellectual property (IP) rights for maximum deterrence on Mexico’s borders.

The forum will be led by Christophe Zimmermann, the Chief Technical Officer of the World Customs Organization’s Anti-Counterfeit and Piracy Unit.  He will be joined by Mexican IP experts from the Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI), Procuraduría General de la Republica (PGR), and the Instituto Nacional del Derecho del Autor (INDAUTOR), as well as specialists from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  Also participating is the American Chamber of Commerce.

The forum will provide the participants with essential risk analysis tools to detect, seize, and deter counterfeit and pirated goods in Mexico. The participation of the key Mexican agencies involved in IP protection and enforcement is designed to promote interagency cooperation and maximize the Mexican government’s efforts to counter IP violations.  A key component of the program is a hands-on training event for the participants in which, through the cooperation of the American Chamber of Commerce, more than 50 famous brand right holders will demonstrate to the customs officials the differences between real and counterfeit goods as well as the various techniques that counterfeiters use to avoid detection.

The forum is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice and has been coordinated by the U.S. Embassy in cooperation with Mexican Customs.

Local media is invited to cover the opening remarks by U.S. Consul General in Monterrey Bruce Williamson and Jaime Martinez Velázquez, representative of Mexico’s Customs Administration, on Wednesday February, 4 in the President InterContinental Hotel.

Following the remarks, there will be media availability in the Dow Jones room.