IPOPHL intensifies work with Greenhills and stakeholders to cleanse mall of counterfeits
May 27, 2024
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), brand owners and enforcement agencies recently held a dialogue with the Greenhills Shopping Center (GSC), which presented ongoing developments in its campaign to encourage its flea market traders to shift away from counterfeit products.
At the meeting, GSC Assistant Vice President and Trade Fairs and Exhibits Head James Candelaria presented the mall’s 10-year roadmap, which aims to gradually move 100% of its merchants away from selling intellectual property (IP) infringing products by 2027.
Starting in 2020, GSC management decided to reduce the number of stalls from 1,771 to 1,412. And as of October 2023, Candelaria said 80% of the traders have gone through the transition program and are now selling local products, Halal items, jewelry, antiques, furniture pieces and artworks.
He also showed that over the years since the implementation of the roadmap, the mall was able to weed out nearly 299 stores by suspension. The GSC suspends stores that violate its rules, including IP rules, and majority of the suspended sellers, according to Candelaria, do not return to GSC.
“What we have done so far is really to educate our traders along the way, to tell them that it’s time to change and that there are other products to profit from,” said Candelaria. Some of GSC’s notable and recent education initiatives include a learning event with the Department of Trade and Industry attended by over 400 merchants and “Bagsakan” events where the GSC showcases local products traders could explore selling.
Since 2022, the mall has refused to accept applicants who intend to sell bags, watches and similar products, except where local manufacturers or labelless products are involved. The category usually makes up a big share of the counterfeit products seized by the National Committee on IP Rights.
The GSC also provided incentives to stores that sell local delicacies and items, placing them at premium locations, which stand at various entrances of the building where the flea market is located.
The meeting was also attended by the legal representatives of luxury brands, who were able to discuss solutions with GSC for their teams to better monitor stores. Also in attendance were NCIPR members, such as the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Customs.
The dialogue was followed by a brief tour, where the GSC showed the new mall building, filled with well-known apparel brands and food stores.
IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba commended the GSC for the new developments in cultivating a sense of IP respect among its merchants and looked forward to seeing more positive outcomes from its transition program.
The IPOPHL chief also urged other malls found to be counterfeiting hotspots to follow suit.
“We laud the commitment of the GSC to work together with its merchants to create a fairer and more IP-conscious business environment. We call on other malls to look at the GSC as an example and see how a gradual transition to good business practices can be done,” Barba added.
While the GSC is the lone physical market flagged in the United States Trade Representative Notorious Markets Lists, it is joined by the Cartimar Shopping Center and the markets of Baclaran and Divisoria in the European Commission’s Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List.
IPOPHL Supervising Director Christine Pangilinan-Canlapan said the IP Rights Enforcement Office is working to soon enjoin the Metro Manila Council—composed of the mayors of the cities and municipalities in the National Capital Region—in IPOPHL’s push to clean out counterfeiting in markets. # # # (Janina Lim, Information Officer III)
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