EXPERT COUNCIL OF FAS RUSSIA DISCUSSED WAYS TO FIGHT COUNTERFEITING ON MARKETPLACES

Solutions aimed at maintaining balance of interests of sellers, right holders, marketplaces and consumers can be found in open dialogue

Within the framework of the meeting of the Expert Council of FAS Russia on the development of competition in the field of information technology, the issue of ensuring fair competition and fighting counterfeiting on marketplaces was discussed.

Elena Zaeva, Head of Department for Regulation of Telecommunications and Information Technology of FAS Russia, noted that the control measures should be comprehensive, both in terms of proper consumer information and in terms of effective response to detected cases of sale of counterfeit goods.

The participants of the meeting discussed what problems they face on marketplaces and shared suggestions for fighting counterfeiting. According to lawyers, it is necessary to improve the process of responding to complaints of counterfeiting and create uniform rules for blocking and responding to counterfeit among marketplaces. They also talked about how it is possible to prevent the creation of a fictitious connection between the supplier and the right holder by implementing the system of "verification" of suppliers and how to improve the efficiency of the personal accounts of right holders.

Tatiana Nikitina, Head of the Department for Control of Advertising and Unfair Competition of FAS Russia, said that checking certificates and other permits on the authenticity and origin of goods would minimize the appearance of counterfeit products on the online trading platform.

Representatives of the marketplace said that marking of each unit of goods could be an effective way to fight counterfeit products. This will help to identify the product at the stage of its arrival at the marketplace warehouse.

The parties are ready to continue work on the site of FAS Russia in order to meet the interests of consumers, marketplaces, conscientious sellers and right holders who sell their goods in the territory of the Russian Federation.

All the measures proposed by right holders and businesses will be carefully studied by FAS Russia for further discussion at the Expert Council site and implementation in practice.