The World Semiconductor Council (WSC) applauded the conclusions of the recent workshop of Customs Experts on semiconductor counterfeiting.

Counterfeiting is threatening, in more ways than one, a worldwide industry that represents a market valued at around €170 billion in 2008. The steady increase of counterfeiting of semiconductors negatively impacts not only the business revenues of the companies concerned, but also critical infrastructure.

From mobile phones and car-braking systems to medical devices and satellites, semiconductors increasingly provide much of the enabling technology at the core of both professional and consumer products. It is at the basis of many technological advances in sectors like information technology, automotives, electrics and machinery or medical devices.

This is one of the reasons the "Governments/Authorities Meeting on Semiconductors" (GAMS) – founded in 1999 and including the governments and authorities from China, Taiwan, the European Union, Japan, Korea and the United States – meets each year with the World Semiconductor Council (WSC). The annual conference addresses topics of importance for the global semiconductor industry in trade, environment, intellectual property and regulatory requirements. Facing a sharp rise in semiconductor counterfeiting, this year’s meeting – held this September and hosted by Korea – has brought together customs experts from all over the world to step up the worldwide efforts to stop the crisis.

Participants discussed the extent of the problem, societal and economic risks and consequences of semiconductor counterfeiting, descriptions of national enforcement procedures, current efforts to address the problem, and possible “tool kits” to contain semiconductor counterfeiting.

 

In their Joint Report, the customs experts recognized that the impact of counterfeiting goes beyond IP or trademark infringement of semiconductor companies. With more semiconductors being used in an end-product, the more counterfeit semiconductors out there in the market, the greater the risks to health and public safety. The experts also:

• Reaffirmed their commitment to protect and enforce intellectual property rights
• Shared their experiences and best practices in their fight against counterfeit semiconductors, from both import and export customs control perspectives
• Underlined the importance of having access to information from the semiconductor industry on products and processes to facilitate customs' identification of suspected counterfeit products

In the meantime, the participants also discussed:

• Joint actions between governments and increasing joint government/industry co-operation
• How to physically and electronically spot semiconductor counterfeits, anti-counterfeiting toolkits and the central role of customs
•  How to undertake, national, bilateral or multilateral enforcement measures against semiconductor counterfeiting

EU Head of Delegation Henk Molegraaf from the Directorate for Taxation & Customs Union,
said of these efforts, “…It is clear this is a global problem which is affecting all parts of the world in one form or the other. This was a significant first joint step to address the problem of semiconductor counterfeiting at a global level...”