Published
December 02, 2024
Each year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce celebrates leaders who rely on IP protection to advance cultural, scientific, and technological solutions to the world’s leading challenges. The Chamber's Global IP Champions event recognizes those who constantly demonstrate leadership, ingenuity, and creativity in pursuing strong intellectual property rights and brings together the visionaries in innovation and creativity who create jobs, underpin economic growth, and enhance our shared competitiveness.
In the lead up to this year's event, the Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) is spotlighting awardees in a series of conversations about the impact of IP protection on their organizations, the intellectual property landscape, and their predictions for the future.
For this installment, I sat down with Florian Larée, French Customs Deputy Attaché, who is receiving this year's Excellence in International Enforcement award on behalf of French Customs (Douane & Droits Indirects). Larée shares his thoughts on intelligence sharing, the growth of the counterfeit goods market, and the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors.
How does intellectual property impact your organization day to day?
French customs work on this issue daily. Some investigation and intelligence units specialized in counterfeiting are working on several cases. At the same time, the specialized offices of the General Directorate and the economic action offices of the Régional Directorates provide support and advice to companies in their efforts to protect their trademarks and other products subject to intellectual property regulations. At the French Embassy, we work alongside our partners in the US to share best practices and intelligence on counterfeiting trends and concealment techniques witnessed.
Can you share a specific project or initiative that you believe has made a significant impact in the field of intellectual property?
Yes, in May 2024, the US Homeland Security Secretary and the French Minister of Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, in charge of public accounts, signed a letter of intent covering a range of customs issues. This letter of intent provides opportunities for closer cooperation between the American and French customs administrations, particularly in the fight against counterfeit goods.
What role do you believe collaboration plays in advancing intellectual property initiatives, and can you share an example of a successful partnership you’ve been involved in?
Cooperation between public and private partners is essential. It enables us to work in-depth on brand protection, both in terms of preventive measures and fraud detection. In February 2024, the Customs Counsellor service did a mission in Mexico alongside IP representatives of brands like Chanel, Lacoste, and Procter and Gamble. This mission was an occasion for them to meet with Mexican Customs, train Mexican Customs agents in identifying counterfeit goods from genuine goods, and raise awareness about counterfeiting in the Americas. It was a great example of a public-private partnership and of a Franco-Mexican Customs partnership. Since then, brands like Hermès and BIC have joined the group, working closely with the French-Mexican Chamber of Commerce and Industry; they are currently creating a task force, which French Custom is a part of, to continue on the great work started then.
In your opinion, what are the biggest and most urgent challenges facing the intellectual property landscape today, and how can champions like you tackle these challenges?
One of the biggest and most urgent challenges is the ever-increasing number of counterfeit goods being transported in express and postal parcels. The massification of this mode of transport requires customs authorities to adapt their systems for targeting, detecting, and controlling. Research and innovation are one of the keys to our success. Intelligence sharing with international partners (US, Mexico, Canada, UE, … ), training of customs agents abroad, goods practices and feedbacks sharing and partnership with brands.
How do you see intellectual property policy and enforcement evolving over the next few years?
Given the growing power and international nature of criminal networks, international cooperation between administrations and between private and public players in the sector will need to be further strengthened. In line with the action taken by French Customs over the years, tackling and dismantling these networks is and will be one of the priorities of our Administration.
About the authors
Kelly Anderson
Kelly Anderson is the Executive Director of International Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
