In a ceremony held in Paris, France on the 7th June 2017, on World Anti-Counterfeiting Day, the Malta Customs Department was awarded the National Public Body Award at the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Awards 2017. This year’s ceremony marked the nineteenth year of the Awards, which are judged annually by Managing Intellectual Property, members of the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Network and representatives of previous winners.

The award acknowledges the Malta Customs Departments continued success in making counterfeit hauls. In the first five months of 2017, 10.5 million counterfeit cigarettes, 5,580 sports shoes and 180 polo shirts were hauled by Malta Customs, breaking the Department’s annual record in just the first five months of the year.

Heading the intellectual property and anti-counterfeiting department at IURIS, Sarah Galea and Lena Sammut frequently work with Customs officials in representing local and international brand owners whenever counterfeit goods are detected, from the initial communication stage, through the court proceedings and up and until destruction of the infringing goods. IURIS also organises anti-counterfeiting training seminars for Customs officials during which brand protection managers give presentations to provide detailed technical information about their brands and ways in which to detect counterfeit goods.

IURIS commends the sterling work carried out by the Malta Customs Department and looks forward to collaborating further in the field of anti-counterfeiting.

Contributed by: Dr. Lena Sammut – IURIS

E: lsammut@iurismalta.com

W: www.iurismalta.com