National anticounterfeiting policy

2024 saw the consolidation and implementation of the first programmatic guidelines set by the National Council for the Fight against Counterfeiting and Italian Sounding (CNALCIS) at its inaugural plenary meeting on 26 October 2023.

Representatives of the 12 Ministries and of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, as Members, of the 9 institutions involved in enforcement and anti-counterfeiting actions, as members of the Permanent Advisory Commission of Polices Forces, and of the 16 trade associations and consumers' representatives as members of the Permanent Advisory Commission of Enterprises and Consumers, coordinated by the DGPI-UIBM as Secretariat, worked to define four Priorities for Action to address the national policy on combating counterfeiting.

The 4 Priorities for Action of CNALCIS for 2024

1. Operational anti-counterfeiting actions. Enforcement and regulation: with the aim of promoting the widest possible cooperation and sharing of information on the results of anti-counterfeiting operations by law enforcement agencies, as well as helping to strengthen the legal anti-counterfeiting framework, which has also occurred as a result of the anti-counterfeiting rules contained in arts. 49-56 of Law No. 206/2023 (the "Made in Italy” Law), the Priority for Action aims to analyse the efficacy and effects of anti-counterfeiting operations and enforcement of anti-counterfeiting laws.
2. Protection of intellectual property on foreign markets: aimed at recognising the value of Made in Italy and at preventing and combating the phenomenon of Italian Sounding on foreign markets, where the distribution of counterfeit products that can be associated in terms of characteristics, design and name with authentic Italian products is increasingly widespread. This Priority aims at strengthening actions to support businesses in identifying and applying the most appropriate tools to protect their IPR on foreign markets, promoting the role of specialised officers at Embassies, ICE offices and other EU IPR Desks supporting SMEs in the EU and in the international area.
3. Online counterfeiting: this Priority aims to consolidate the dialogue between institutions and web intermediaries in order to assess possible proactive tools and measures including from a technological evolution perspective, share information, expand the cooperation network and to launch possible further joint actions to prevent and combat counterfeiting in the digital world.
4. Awareness and Education: the main objectives of this Priority include awareness-raising and training increasing the level of knowledge of Industrial Property and its recognition and protection against counterfeiting through targeted training actions addressed to teachers, young people, businesses and specific professional categories (such as judges and law enforcement agencies), as well as through wider communication activities, including through social media channels.

During 2024, CNALCIS organised its activities by setting up 4 Thematic Working Groups, each corresponding to the Priorities for Action. The Working Groups met 6 times during the year, thanks to coordination work by the Secretariat. Their objective is to promote and facilitate the discussion and sharing of guidelines and of anti-counterfeiting operations, as well as to discuss operational planning and the progress of real-world activities. The main results of the anti-counterfeiting activities carried out in 2024 by the competent authorities were highlighted in a Report presented at the Council's plenary meeting on 21 October 2024.

The report provides an overview of the four guidelines that have guided the activities of CNALCIS: strengthening the anti-counterfeiting regulatory framework; repressing counterfeiting on national territory and in the virtual world; preventing the infringement of IP rights online; raising the level of awareness of the risks and damages caused by the counterfeit market.