Source: Ministry of Justice - 18/12/2012

When buying a pirated product, the citizen feeds the drug trade and the arms of criminal organizations. Society needs to be aware of the importance of buying original products and not feeding organized crimes. This was the keynote of the Seminar in Commemoration of the National Day to Combat Piracy, held this Monday (3/12), in the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice.

Present at the opening of the event, the Minister of Justice, José Eduardo Cardozo, emphasized the need to confront this crime. “The fight against piracy belongs to society and the Brazilian State. The crime of piracy is connected to organized crime, so we are recognizing entities that develop actions in this area. This is an important role, which can encourage other actions, ”said the minister.

The Seminar featured four lectures. The executive president of the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (ETCO), Roberto Abdenur, spoke about the project “Cidade Livre de Pirataria”. A retired diplomat, the speaker was Brazil's ambassador to Ecuador, China, Germany and Austria and to international organizations in Vienna and the United States.

The ETCO president recalled that the National Council to Combat Piracy will be 10 years old in 2014. He stressed that, although there has been much progress in this period, there are still many challenges ahead. He also warned that piracy affects the country's image and investments by foreigners.

Executive President of the National Forum Against Piracy and Illegality (FNCP), Edson Luiz Vismona, presented the theme "Panorama of Piracy and Offenses against Intellectual Property today". Secretary of Justice and Defense of Citizenship of the State of São Paulo between 2000 and 2002, Vismona reported that frequent actions to combat piracy in São Paulo have changed the logistics of crime in Paraguay. He warned of the problem of legislation that favors crime. "We have judicial decisions in which the diversion is considered a crime against a tax order", he quoted. The speaker pointed out that the great piracy market in Bolivia, Chile and Uruguay is Brazil.

The Municipal Secretary of Urban Security of São Paulo, Edson Ortega, showed data from the “Experience of the Secretary of Urban Security of the Municipality of São Paulo in the fight against Piracy”. From December 2010 to October 2012, 72 million goods were seized in the capital, which corresponds to R $ 2,5 billion. “With the taxes related to [these pirated goods], about R $ 600 thousand were not collected, which would be enough to build 300 schools for 60 thousand children”, he calculated for the audience.

At the end of the event, the executive secretary of the CNCP, Rodolfo Tamanaha, presented the diagnosis of the National Plan to Combat Piracy. Lawyer, master of the University of Brasilia, Tamanaha stressed the need to discourage society from consuming pirated products. "We don't want to stigmatize the consumer, but we need to understand the barriers to accessing consumption," he warned.

During the ceremony, the city of Vitória (ES) signed a technical cooperation agreement with the CNCP. The numbers of seizures of pirated goods carried out by the Federal Highway Police (PRF) were also presented.

Awards - During the event, initiatives to combat piracy developed by entities in the Northeast, South and Southeast regions were awarded, in addition to a national award. This was the second edition of the National Award to Combat Piracy.

The 2nd National Award for Combating Piracy adopted as criteria for evaluating actions to combat piracy, developed between August 2011 and July 2012, the impact and benefit on society and the economy; initiative innovation and creativity; planning and coordination and potential for example and internal motivation.