YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) is carrying out major works to raise the quality and efficiency of the fight against the spread of fake products, Timur
Zhaksylykov,Member of the Board – Minister in charge of Economy and Financial Policy at the EEC, said in an interview to ARMENPRESS.

-Mr. Zhaksylykov, today the 7th Anticontrafact International Forum is being held in Armenia. How do you assess such format discussions on issues relating to the circulation of counterfeit products?

-We are holding this forum since 2012, and starting from that times it became a platform for discussing the issues on circulation of fake products. We are also dealing with the intellectual property rights issues. Here the representatives of the leadership, the business and science, as well as others exchange views and present proposals. The format of this forum is very unique because such platforms are not so much in the world where issues about the fake products are being discussed.

-The number of fake products in the Eurasian Economic Union is gradually growing. What is the reason? How the member states of the Union are going to solve this issue?

-The increase in number of fake products doesn’t only relate to us, it is a widespread issue all over the world. According to the data of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development this year the circulation of fake goods in the world will comprise more than 500 billion USD. This is equal to the 3% of the global import. Several years ago this figure was low. On the one hand, the production of fake goods increases in the EAEU, they are also imported from abroad in a large quantity. And on the other hand, the level of fight against fake increases. In recent years the fast growth of these goods is also thanks to the online purchases. Today we are going to discuss the effective approaches for the fight against fake products which are already being successfully used. The close cooperation and work within the EAEU is very important for us.

-What mechanisms are there in the EAEU for the protection of intellectual property rights? How do the countries fight smuggling?

-Russia is doing quite well in the fight against the spread of counterfeit goods via online shopping. We have seen how several similar websites have been blocked. However, I think there is still a lot to learn in this regard, and the Commission needs to take actions on this direction.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan