Guidelines Laid Down by the European Union Law for Regulation of the Fight against Counterfeiting by Means of National Criminal Law
Guidelines Laid Down by the European Union Law for Regulation of the Fight against Counterfeiting by Means of National Criminal Law

Summary/Abstract: The immense amounts of counterfeiting are faced in the modern world, this causes direct damage for the holders of intellectual property rights, users and the European Union market, also it is the area for development of the organized crime. Uncertainty of criminalized infringements is a powerful incentive for it. The differences of national criminal mechanisms of the Member States of the European Union not only undermine the operation of the internal market of the European Union, they also make it difficult to combat counterfeiting and piracy. In addition to the economic and social consequences, counterfeiting and piracy also pose problems for consumer protection, particularly when health and safety are at stake. Increasing use of the Internet enables pirated products to be distributed instantly. Finally, this phenomenon appears to be increasingly linked to organised crime. Combating this phenomenon is therefore of vital importance for the European Union. Counterfeiting has become the lucrative activity in the same way as other large-scale criminal activities such as drug trafficking. There are high potential profits to be made without risk of serious legal penalties. One aspect of this problem is analyzed in this article, this aspect is applicability of the European Union legislature and the legislation, which is applied by the institutions of the European Union in their activities, in the national law of the Member States for the effective legal fight against counterfeit.

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