| Letter from Tom Thomson, CIPR Vice President
On 10 February, over 6 million counterfeit cigarettes were publicly destroyed in the Moscow Region, the third major enforcement action carried out by Russian enforcement authorities in the past six months. CIPR, working with Russian enforcement authorities, helped organize the destruction event, including inviting and transporting journalists to the site.
According to law enforcement specialists, the counterfeit cigarettes, which were marked for European export, were extremely dangerous, containing highly-toxic ingredients. This event was the third in a series of major anti-counterfeiting operations, including the destruction of over 40 million fake cigarettes in Ryazan in October 2004 and the police raid on a counterfeit cigarette factory in Southern Russia in December 2004. The Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) spokespersons, representing rights holders, noted at the event that the destruction was an excellent example of cooperation between law enforcement and rights holders that resulted in a successful interdiction. The trade in fake cigarettes and other products are serious and complex issues that require national and international public-private cooperation to effectively address. Alexander Vorobiev, Head of the Press Service for the RF Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the investigating officer highlighted how important cooperation between the brand-holders and MVD was to the success of the investigation and interdiction. However, there are indications that several counterfeit cigarette production facilities are still in business. Mr. Vorobiev stressed that there are several ongoing investigations of counterfeit cigarette production and companies producing cigarettes, while emphasizing that the Russian authorities plan to continue their anti-counterfeiting enforcement activities. As part of a recent initiative to give law enforcement additional legal clout, along with other key IP and consumer associations and rights holders, presented recommendations for IP legislation, enforcement measures, public education to strengthen protection for consumers. CIPR believes that these recommendations will help law enforcement authorities do their work, while protecting consumers and IP owners in Russia from fake goods. CIPR will keep you informed about the latest IP-related developments and activities. Please do not hesitate to contact me or my colleague Dominique Winther at +7 (095) 775-0077 or by e-mail at
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if you have questions or need any additional information.
Kind regards,
Tom Thomson
Vice President
Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR)
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