World Cup Law provides for punishment of up to one year in prison for piracy

By ETCO
09/08/2012

To guarantee compliance with the legislation, Brazil signed a technical cooperation agreement with FIFA in order to create strategies to protect brands and products related to the Confederations Cup and World Cup games.

From now on, according to Law No. 12.663 (General Cup Law), sanctioned by President Dilma Rousseff on June 6, anyone who falsifies or even misuses any official FIFA or World Cup symbol can be sentenced to up to one year in prison, plus a fine. The penalty is the same for those who sell the product or store it. The legislation aims to fulfill the guarantees assumed by the Brazilian government with the International Football Federation (FIFA).

The so-called “ambush marketing” also becomes a crime. According to the law, it occurs when someone improperly associates a brand or symbol with the event (association marketing) or uses the event to expose a brand or symbol unrelated to FIFA or the World Cup (“intrusion marketing”). The three crimes created in the General Law will only exist in Brazilian law until the end of 2014.

On June 19, Brazil signed a technical cooperation agreement with FIFA to create strategies to protect brands and products related to the Confederations Cup and World Cup games. One of the actions will include training courses in differentiation between pirated and original products for public agents in the cities that will host the games. The objective of the National Council for Combating Piracy and Crimes against Intellectual Property (CNCP) is to contribute so that major events take place in an environment of legality and respect for national and international consumers.

"Undoubtedly, the implementation of this law is of fundamental importance, but it is worth remembering that, regardless of the holding of major events in the country, the fight against piracy should not be restricted to specific needs", says ETCO's executive president, Roberto Abdenur . "In this sense, Brazil already has important initiatives coordinated by the CNCP, including the Cidade Livre de Pirataria Program, which is under the management of ETCO."

The program, aimed at preventing and suppressing the trade in counterfeit products, is already implemented in six cities. São Paulo, Curitiba, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Osasco and Rio de Janeiro, which created municipal committees to combat piracy. Recife, Cuiabá and Porto Alegre will be the next to sign the agreement. ETCO's goal is to involve all the World Cup host cities in the program.