The World Customs Organization Commends the EDAPS Consortium’s Anti-Counterfeiting Solutions
03.02.2008
Picture (2196.jpg): WCO Secretary General Michel Danet (on the left) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the EDAPS Consortium Alexander Vassiliev (on the right)
The Fourth Global Congress “Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy” was held in Dubai (UAE) on February 3-5, 2008. The EDAPS Consortium successfully showcased its anti-counterfeiting technology solutions at the Congress.
The Congress and the exhibit dedicated to anti-counterfeiting solutions were organized by the World Customs Organization (WCO) along with Interpol, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the International Security Management Association (ISMA).
The Congress was convened under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Ruler of Dubai. The event was hosted by the Dubai Customs and the Dubai Customs Administration.
Dubai Customs’ Director General, Ahmed Butti Ahmed, stated that “Dubai’s reputation for excellence in trade will not be allowed to be tarnished by those who wish to trade in goods and services that do not respect intellectual property rights or patent protections.”
More than 500 representatives of intergovernmental organizations, national governments, enforcement agencies and businesses from 70 countries gathered to discuss the escalating global problem of product counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property.
WCO Secretary General Michel Danet, who presided over the Fourth Global Congress, noted that nothing changed in the recent years. “Counterfeiting and piracy continues to grow at an alarming rate, and these fake products which often prove fatal to consumers are now being produced on an industrial scale,” said Mr. Danet.
“The targets of counterfeiting and piracy are not only the poorest and most vulnerable citizens in our society, but also the richest and most powerful corporations in the world,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble. “To address the risk of counterfeiting, governments, and especially the private sector need to continue to identify strategies that produce concrete results,” stated Mr. Noble.
The Congress participants acknowledged that the EDAP Consortium offers effective solutions for fighting product counterfeiting. On February 4 Alexander Vassiliev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the EDAPS Consortium, presented a master-class program on implementing excise tax stamps with holographic security elements (HSE). This solution allows to quickly double the revenue from sales of excisable goods. In 2003 Ukraine used the Consortium’s solution to implement the excise tax stamps with HSE for tobacco and alcohol products. According to the State Revenue Administration of Ukraine, the additional revenue (from excise tax, income tax, and VAT) received after improving the excise tax collection system and implementing excise tax stamps with HSE equaled: in 2004—approximately $1.35 billion, in 2005—approximately $1.66 billion, and in 2006—approximately $1.78 billion. Prior to implementing excise tax stamps with HSE in 2003, 50% of tobacco and alcohol products in Ukraine were counterfeit. Currently the percentage of counterfeit products is close to zero.
On February 4 the Consortium’s booth was visited by the WCO Secretary General Michel Danet, who gave a high rating to the Consortium’s products (holographic security elements) and technologies aimed at solving the problem of counterfeiting. Michel Danet stated that in July 2008 he will travel to Ukraine, and he intends to visit the EDAPS Consortium while on his trip.
Michel Danet commended the EDAPS Consortium on its innovative technologies used to fight counterfeiting and contraband. While the Congress in Dubai was in progress, the Specialized Enterprise “Holography,” a member of the EDAPS Consortium, presented a unique new technology for de-metallization of holograms in Ukraine. This development brought Ukraine the distinction of being the second country in the world to own cutting edge technology for de-metallization of super-high resolution holograms. This type of technology is used, for example, to produce European currency. The technology developed by the EDAPS Consortium allows to achieve a much higher resolution than the one offered by a similar Swiss technology (“zero.zero”), which is considered to be one of the leading technologies in the world today.
Note. The EDAPS Consortium was formed in 2004. Areas of activity: development and implementation of identification documents and other high security documents. The Consortium includes 9 companies: VTI company (Open Joint Stock Company KP VTI), Specialized Enterprise “Holography,” Incom Corporation, Znak Ltd., Polly-Service Ltd., Zorya Polygraphic Combine, Commercial Industrial Bank, State Enterprise “State center for document personalization”, “3T” Firm.
The largest government projects of the Consortium in Ukraine include: 2003—government program involving production of excise tax stamps with holographic security elements and implementing an accounting and control system for excise stamps; since 2005—government program implementing a new plastic national driver’s license and vehicle registration cards; since June 2007— government program implementing a new Ukrainian foreign passport with a polycarbonate data page. According to the experts from the ICAO, the new Ukrainian passport is among the top five passports in the world.
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