The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) told business leaders and government officials – including Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev – gathered in Moscow for the International Forum on Anti-counterfeiting 2012 that efforts to stabilize the economy and stimulate economic growth must include intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in order to drive innovation, development and jobs.

“This conference comes at an important time as Russia joins the World Trade Organization (WTO) and takes on direct participation in the WTO Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS),” wrote ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier in an open letter to the Forum participants. “Russia’s adoption of TRIPs will be a significant boost to the fight against counterfeiting – here in the Russian Federation and worldwide.”

Representing ICC’s Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) initiative at the Forum, BASCAP Director Jeffrey Hardy presented the findings from the BASCAP report “Promoting and Protecting Intellectual Property Rights in the Russian Federation”.  The report sets out BASCAP’s recommendations for policy and legislative changes needed to bring Russia’s IP regime and IP enforcement efforts up to international standards.

Just 20 years ago, Russia was one of the worst IPR infringers in the world, and even with some recent reforms, counterfeiting and piracy in Russia still amounts to a staggering 24% of key retail sales, equal to nearly a trillion rubles, according to the report.

Click here to read more on ICC’s website.

BASCAP – Promoting and Protecting Intellectual Property in the Russian Federation