1.1 SNB-REACT Expertise team REACT Italy
REACT Italy has set up a team of brand identification experts spread throughout the country. The experts are trained by the brand representatives and kept updated though an internal protected brand identification site. REACT Italy has set up this service for its members to enable them to follow up in Court the numerous notifications initiated by the Guardia di Finanza, Customs authorities, Carabinieri and all other law enforcement officers. In Court the experts can assist one or more brands owners at the same time and provide witness statements.

With this team of experts, REACT responds to a need for companies to keep up with the high number of requests from enforcement officers as well as the judiciary. The costs of sending in house experts (or attorneys) to provide witness statements can be enormous. By bundling these efforts, REACT manages first of all to reduce costs for brands owners more than significantly; secondly it provides the opportunity for brands owners to follow up the demands of the officials in a consistent manner, and thirdly, the officers and judiciary can be supported more swiftly. The costs savings are realized because of the following reasons:

- the not for profit nature of REACT Italy
- reduction of travel expenses because the experts are located throughout the country
- by representing more companies in a single case, the fees for the experts are shared.

Members interested in this cost efficient service, please contact info@snbreact.org or glaviani@snbreact.org, or 00-39-02-8050.9450


1.2 Major Destruction Mobile Accessories
Major destruction of Mobile Phone Accessories in Lithuania: last December Kaunas Territorial Customs have seized the largest shipment of counterfeit mobile phone accessories since the establishment of SNB-REACT office in Lithuania. The shipment contained almost 10 000 units of various accessories - batteries, chargers, hands-free sets, covers. On 16 January 2006 the counterfeit goods were destroyed under supervision of Customs and SNB-REACT by applying the Art. 11 of the Council Regulation No 1383/2003.


1.3 Internet Monitoring
Internet Monitoring proved to be a cost-efficient and pro-active program for fighting counterfeit products that are being offered on the Internet. In 2005 we have removed a whopping total of 13.512 advertisements from several auction sites. Thanks to intensive contacts with eBay, Marktplaats, Speurders etc. we were able to remove advertisements fast, obtain personal information on sellers and even block sellers from the auction site altogether. Users of the program feel that Internet Monitoring is not only effective, they also feel that it gives them a good indication of the number of counterfeit goods that are out there on the Internet. Are you interested in this program? Please contact Liselotte Bakker at lbakker@snbreact.nl or 00-31-(0)20-6406363 . She will be happy to give you more information.

2.1 Summary report SNB-REACT 2005
In 2005 SNB-REACT has experienced a rapid development of its foreign operations. Particularly in Portugal and Italy the number of interventions grew significantly. In The Netherlands itself, SNB-REACT has made considerable progress in developing a cost effective and environmental friendly processing of counterfeit goods. Objective is to set this as a model for all its international activities. Most likely the future will show an enhanced role of rights owners to facilitate and cooperate through Public Private partnership with the enforcement authorities whereby these partnerships have to take care of the processing of counterfeit products.

In line with this growing role of rights owners, SNB-REACT has successfully promoted the introduction of the simplified customs procedure in many EU countries. In The Netherlands, Portugal, Lithuania, Hungary this has already become standard practice and more countries will follow soon. SNB-REACT is pleased with this development because it will result in shorter legal procedures, swift destruction or recycling of goods as well as more room for the enforcement authorities to concentrate on the important matters.



2.2 Operations by unit
Netherlands: (including operations Poland, UK and Luxembourg) 1467 actions, 2.5 mln products seized

Italy (including operations in Italy, Hungary, Romania, Malta, Greece and Slovenia) 579 actions, 732.000 products seized

Portugal (including operations in Spain) 437 actions, 353.000 products seized

Baltic States (including operations in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia)60 actions and 195.000 products seized


2.3 Finances
The year 2005 promised to be a sound financial year with a 30% increase in revenues on fees due to the higher number of interventions, extension of services (Internet monitoring), new members and successful damage claims. Costs raise accordingly: higher personnel costs and increase in costs for processing counterfeit goods, overall result will be positive though.  In the fee structure we introduced an overall cap of € 30.000 where we used to have a national cap for Dutch interventions only. The board decided to change this system for 2006 to national caps for all actions of the units. In this way we are meeting the most common structure of our members which operate with  national budgets.


2.4 Technical Assistance training organized
Outside the Dutch technical assistance at the annual meeting, SNB-REACT organized trainings in:
Lithuania: Vilnius, March 2005
Italy: Rome, April and Milan, October 2005 (Regional events, organized by Italian Customs)
Portugal:Lisbon, April 2005
Hungary: Budapest, October 2005
Romania: Costança, November 2005
Macedonia: Skopje, December 2005 (CARDS EU-EPO Project)


2.5 Membership
New members in 2005 were Kingston Technology, Illy Caffee, De Simone & partners representing Bulgari and Fendi, Bikkembergs, Hermes, Gianni Versace, ADO, Rolling Stones, Yamaha, Stokke, Laserit, IKSL, Tom Tom, ICCE.


2.6 Composition board
The board started off 2005 in the following composition:



In the annual meeting it was decided to extend the board.
Candidate members already joined the last board meeting and will be nominated for official board membership in the next General Assembly in 2006
Max Blom and Tom Fadrhonc announced to step back in 2006.


2.7 Expansion
The activities in the Baltic States were further enhanced with the employment of a full time lawyer in Lithuania, Kazimieras Sarczikas. His primary goal was to initiate police actions at the notorious Garunai market in Vilnius as well as to follow up customs actions on behalf of our members. A good start with a high number of customs actions and the first anti counterfeiting police actions in Lithuania ever!, was followed by a slow down in the second part of the year. Whereas the actions in Latvia raise significantly in the second part of the year. SNB-REACT decided to restructure its operations in the Baltics and bring it from 1-1-2006 onwards under one heading instead of the split operation in the joint venture with CIPR in Latvia; the one mans office in Lithuania and the external partner in Estonia. Kazimieras Sarczikas will coordinate and report the legal activities of the new unit and Artis Brinkmanis will manage the investigative activities in all Baltic States.

In 2005 Partnership agreements were established with Schoenherr lawyers in Austria, Ganado & Sammut in Malta, Wardynski lawyers in Poland, Bartesz Zablocki in Poland, Benjin Oy in Finland.


2.8 Extension services
Due to the increased role of The Internet as commercial platform, SNB-REACT decided to experiment with an Internet monitoring project: next to the monitoring of outlet points on the sales of counterfeit goods. We are now monitoring the Internet for those members who subscribed to this service. After 6 months, the conclusion was clearly that this service should be part of the standard services of SNB-REACT. In 2005, we concentrated on the monitoring of auction sites in The Netherlands and Italy. This will be extended in 2006.

3.1 WCO 1st Task Force meeting Reconfirm Strategic Group as core group for IPR
The WCO 1st Task Force meeting, held in Brussels 26 and 27 October '05, reconfirmed the WCO-IPR Strategic Group as the core group for IPR issues within the WCO.

As a result of the meeting, recommendation to focus on four major issues affecting Customs work on tackling counterfeit and piracy were made and the issues identified as follows:
   A) Free Zones, Transit, Trans-shipment
   B) Destruction / Recycling
   C) Information Exchange
   D) Internet Piracy

During the last meeting in London the Strategic Group decided to create working groups for each subject above, which will report their results at the next task force meeting scheduled for spring 2006.
The groups will use the "discussions group/message board" on the protected part of www.wcoipr.org, so that all members will be able to follow and/or contribute to the discussions.
Each working/sub group will first present a draft paper mid January which will  be published on the message board for comments/recommendations for the next meeting of the Strategic Group on 1st March.


3.2 SNB-REACT Report 2005 on WCO-IPR Secretariat activities
SNB-REACT runs the secretariat of the WCOIPR group. The Strategic Group met four times. Technical Assistance training was organized in Vietnam, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Malaysia. In Kazakhstan the conference concerned a regional seminar for Central Asian countries. It was organized in conjunction with UNECE and WIPO. We hope to be able to have more of these co-organizations in the future. WCO itself decided to pay more attention to the IPR enforcement problem and initiated a task force meeting. Four task forces have been identified which will report their findings in 2006.

4.1 SNB-REACT Annual General Meeting
This year, is the 15th anniversary of our organization, a special reception and the annual meeting will be held on Thursday April 27 from 14.00 till 19.00 hours at the West- Indisch Huis Herenmarkt 99, 1013 EC Amsterdam
On Friday April 28 - seminar for police and customs Tulip Inn Amsterdam Riverside (same location as last year) Provincialeweg 38, 1108 AB  Amsterdam ZO


4.1 Other SNB-REACT and WCO-IPR Events
• February 16, Tallinn, Estonia; small scale REACT
• February 28-March 1, WCO-IPR Internal Meeting, Brussels, Belgium
• Planned Mid March 2006, Montevideo, Uruguay - WCO-IPR Event
• Planned May 2006, Mumbai India - WCO-IPR Event
• Planned May 2006, London, UK - WCO-IPR Event
• Planned 2006, United Arab Emirates, Dubai - WCO-IPR Event
• Planned Spring 2006, East Africa Regional Event - WCO-IPR Event