Results of the Round Table «Anti-counterfeiting and Unfair Competition in Kazakhstan and the Countries of Central Asia»
On September 24, 2024 Bolotov & Partners and INTA, international trademark association hosted one of the biggest events in IP field in Almaty. Round table devoted to anti-counterfeiting and unfair competition in Kazakhstan and the countries of Central Asia.
The main goal of the round table was to discuss issues of combating illegal circulation of industrial products, protecting the market from counterfeits and fake products, and protection of the rights of right owners commercializing intellectual property objects.
“We would like to draw attention to the problems of counterfeiting, to familiarize participants with the work of government agencies and to communicate with their representatives directly and ask them questions”, – outlined the main goal of the event organizers of this event.
Zhanat Nurmagambetov, Partner of the firm explained that Bolotov & Partners has been dealing with issues of protection of intellectual property rights for over 30 years and represents companies providing services to a wide range of clients in business and public. Zhanat underlined that we are for an honest dialog between entrepreneurs, as well as business and the government. This relates not only to compliance with the legislation but also to the proper use of the tools that the government provides to fight counterfeiting.
This event is a chance to hold an open dialog between representatives of marketplaces and business representatives, dedicated to such outstanding issues as: who is responsible for the sale of counterfeit goods on marketplaces, how to fight it, in whose power is the regulation of this issue by the government and what responsibility comes to those who deal with faked goods.
This year’s round table gathered professionals and experts from more than 15 countries, who shared the practice of combating counterfeiting in their countries, gave proposals for amendments to the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, shared examples of their practice in the fight against counterfeit goods.
Fair entrepreneurs representing various sectors of the economy made presentations and they expressed their concern about increasing supply of counterfeit goods, including on the country’s marketplaces. According to them, this causes damage to the state – taxes and other payments are not paid, and also unfair competition arises. The negative effect from the use of illegal products is also experienced by consumers, and it can be a threat to health and life.
The round table participants agreed that it is necessary to establish direct links between various institutions and market participants. Fair producers need to actively cooperate with government agencies in terms of communicating information about illegal actions that they identify in the course of market monitoring and detection of unfair competition.
For more information about the event visit the following links:
In Russian: https://www.youtube.com/live/JUdxlniNwKg
In English: https://www.youtube.com/live/5PSXro4DmfU
