The Commission's Taxation and Customs Union Directorate (TAXUD)
and US Customs and Border Protection seized the components in
November and December last year. It was the first time they acted
together on intellectual property enforcement. They had agreed in
2006 that they would collaborate.
"The EU and US are fully committed to combating counterfeiting
and piracy at home and abroad," said Robert Verrue, director
general for taxation and customs at the Commission. "This shows
that customs administrations are prepared to tackle difficult
enforcement challenges and issues, especially when the health and
safety of our citizens is at stake.”
The co-ordination resulted in the seizure of 360,000 integrated
circuits, or computer chips, bearing over 40 different trade marks
a Commission statement said.
“It is important to also recognize that there is a vitally
important but discreet role that these components play in the
everyday infrastructure of our societies," said Dan Baldwin,
assistant commissioner of US Office of International Trade.."We
therefore need to be able to rely on systems that are supported by
them across various sectors, particularly as it relates to national
security.”
In 2006 the European Commission and the US agreed a programme of
action to combat intellectual property infringements and chose to
focus on fake computer chips.
"These products were selected for the joint operation because
they present safety and security risks in addition to [intellectual
property] infringement risk," said the Commission's statement. It
said that the Commission believed there were "national security and
health and safety implications" of using fake chips, and that their
potential use in aircraft, cars and medical devices could put users
in danger.
