TIACA: air cargo industry can help stop IPR violators

The International Air Cargo Association said the industry, especially the intermediaries, has a role to play in keeping products that infringe on intellectual property rights out of the supply chain.    The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) said the industry, especially freight intermediaries, has a role to play in keeping products that infringe on intellectual property rights out of the supply chain.
   The TIACA Position Paper: Intellectual Property Rights And The Air Cargo Industry (https://www.tiaca.org/page/iprpaper) was put together by the organization’s Market Access and Trade Facilitation Subcommittee and approved by the board, which includes members from across the air freight industry.
   It’s estimated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that IPR violations cost legitimate businesses more than $250 billion in lost revenues. In addition, the EU Customs noted in 2014 that IPR infringing items with health and safety concerns accounted for 28.6 percent of total detained goods.
   TIACA said the air cargo industry can help in the fight against products that infringe intellectual property rights by working alongside the rights holders and customs authorities.
   The organization, however, realizes there are limitations to how far the air cargo industry can go in combating IPR crimes. 
   “Air cargo industry members are not law enforcement agencies, and our role is necessarily limited by this reality,” Doug Brittin, TIACA’s secretary general, said in a statement. 
   “Any potential liability for air cargo industry members should be limited to instances where air cargo operators have actual knowledge of receiving or handling IPR infringing goods and have failed to take action based on that knowledge,” he said.