CLDP held a Georgia Intellectual Property Customs Border Enforcement and Coordination Workshop in Tbilisi, Georgia. The Workshop was designed to improve the skills and knowledge of the Revenue Service of Georgia in order to better interdict IP infringing goods, including counterfeit and pirated goods. In addition, the program addressed current issues of parallel imports in Georgia and their IP implications. The interactive sessions and presentations focused on enforcement of IPR, counterfeit product identification, investigation of IP infringing goods, US and international practice of parallel imports, and methods of coordination among customs officials. Customs officials participated in interactive exercises on risk analysis and targeting, as well as case studies on various aspects of enforcement, identification of infringing goods, and interagency cooperation on IP investigations.

Advisors to the programs included representatives from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the World Customs Organization (WCO). Both CBP and WCO offered continued technical assistance to the Revenue Service of Georgia and discussed future exchanges with customs officials. 

The goal of the workshop was to increase the adequacy and efficiency of Georgia’s customs officials to combat the trade in counterfeit and pirated goods, to increase the efficiency of IPR enforcement in Georgia, and to promote increased dialogue between customs officials, rights holders, and other Georgian agencies tasked with IPR enforcement.