Source: Correio Braziliense, 04/12/2008

The federal government will municipalize the fight against piracy and intensify the education actions of the population against this type of consumption. These are just two of at least 20 measures that will be adopted in 2009 to stop counterfeiting of goods in Brazil. Another action will be the partnership with internet providers and e-commerce sites in an attempt to reduce the distribution of pirated products through these channels. The new guidelines were announced yesterday by the National Council to Combat Piracy (CNCP), an organ of the Ministry of Justice.

Luiz Paulo Barreto, president of the CNCP, celebrated the results of the repression actions against sellers and manufacturers of counterfeit products and the education of the population between 2004 and 2008. In the meantime, the number of people arrested for the crime of counterfeiting increased 30 times and the value of the seized goods increased from R $ 400 million to R $ 1 billion. Even with stronger statistics, Barreto acknowledged that much remains to be done. "We have made progress at the federal level, but the state and the municipalities are missing," said Alexandre Cruz, president of the National Forum to Combat Piracy.

Currently, the counterfeiting that worries most is that of medicines. According to Barreto, the Federal Highway Police alone seized 500 units of medication this year. "This shows that it is a public health problem," said the president of CNCP. At a ceremony yesterday, the National Day to Combat Piracy, the Council signed an agreement with the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) to expand the repression and the actions of forming society's opinion on the problems of consumption of counterfeit medicines. In addition to causing loss of income and jobs, these drugs do not treat diseases and can cause very serious side effects.