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Police Enforce IP Rights at CeBIT

German officials raid 55 trade show exhibits accused of patent infringement

Gary Tufel — Tradeshow Week,

More than 180 German police, customs officials and prosecutors raided 55 exhibitors’ booths March 5 during CeBIT, the giant information technology trade show held March 4-9 in Hannover, Germany. Two more raids followed on subsequent days.

Authorities confiscated six cartons of electronic goods – including cell phones, navigation devices, digital picture frames, flat-screen monitors, GPS devices and high-definition televisions – and documents, according to Hannover police spokesman Stefan Wittke.

He said the raids were in response to the large number of complaints from patent holders prior to the trade show, which had increased in recent years. Wittke said police conducted similar raids during the 2006 and 2007 CeBIT shows, but they were not as extensive as this year’s actions.

Wittke said at least 24 of the exhibitors questioned and fined were from China, including three from Hong Kong. Another 12 were from Taiwan. Nine more were from Germany and one each was from Poland, the Netherlands and South Korea.

Most of the relevant patents were related to devices with MP3, MP4 and DVB functions for digital audio and video; blank CDs; and DVD copiers, Wittke said. Twenty people were ordered to pay a security deposit of $1,000 ($1,533) each and were released. Most were cooperative, he added.

Wittke said the police intended their actions to send a message that intellectual property violations would not be tolerated. He said Deutsche Messe, organizer of the show, had informed all exhibitors of the possibility that regulations would be enforced.

“They should have known this and expected the raids,” Wittke said. “We will conduct them again next year as well.”

The 55 exhibitors in question were allowed to continue participating in the show, but faced eviction if found in violation again.

The cases have been turned over to authorities, and the offending parties may face additional fines. However, they do not face jail time as had been reported elsewhere in the media.

CeBIT and Deutsche Messe spokesperson Hartwig von Sass confirmed some details of the raids, but said police instructed Deutsche Messe not to comment on the ongoing investigation.

Vincent Gerard, managing director of UFI, the Global Assn. of the Exhibition Industry, said that recent interventions on IPR issues at exhibitions and conventions were not unusual and occur when an exhibitor considers him or herself the victim of patent infringement.

“The organizer’s role consists of providing assistance and access to the exhibition for the adapted legal action when counterfeit practices are identified,” Gerard said.

Steven Hacker, president of the Intl. Assn. of Exhibitions and Events, said he was happy to see authorities taking the intellectual property rights of exhibitors seriously.

“The CeBIT incidents illustrate the need for organizers to do all they can to prevent their events from being used by pirates for illegal purposes,” Hacker said. “This issue will only grow in its importance for our industry.” TSW

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