NCIPR Lauds Customs Feat On Pirated And Counterfeit Catch

For the period from January 1 to November 30, 2012, the Bureau of Customs seized pirated and counterfeit goods amounting to P1,100,000,000.00 which is considered as one of the highest amount of seized bogus items.This was declared by Atty. Ricardo R. Blancaflor, Director General for the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR), as he congratulated Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon in a letter dated December 13, 2012.Blancaflor stated in his letter that “the performance of BOC as of November 30, 2012 is 22.05% of the total confiscation of the NCIPR (P4,988,645,292.00). In this regard, we would like to commend the officials and personnel of the Intellectual Property Unit of the Bureau of Customs (IPU-BOC) for this excellent performance.”The Bureau of Customs according to Blancaflor has one of the highest seizures of pirated and counterfeit goods among the law enforcement agencies under the NCIPR.“We believe that their performance should merit a distinction from the Bureau,” the NCIPR Director General added.Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon is elated by the performance of the IPU-BOC headed by Atty. Zsae de Guzman, but at the same time cautioning them to double their efforts in their vigilant watch as counterfeiters double their momentum on pirated goods even for a slight observance in a lull in the enforcement operations.Biazon also stated that this performance was the result of strengthening its border control as well as the operation conducted on warehouses that are known to store high-end counterfeit goods such as Louie Vuitton, Gucci, Prada and the luxury brands.