The leading international automotive and truck parts supplier associations this week issued a statement of cooperation to join together to combat counterfeiting
and other intellectual property rights violations in the global automotive industry.

Representatives of CLEPA (the European association of automotive suppliers), the Japan Auto Parts Industries Association and the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (which represents North American motor vehicle parts suppliers), recently met to discuss the issue of counterfeiting and IPR:

"Counterfeiting of products world wide is a multi-billion dollar cost," the three groups said in a joint statement following the meeting. "The incidence of automotive parts counterfeiting is growing and is costing legitimate parts manufacturers billions of dollars annually. Not only is the economic impact significant, but counterfeited low quality parts are a danger and can cause accidents and deaths…. all counterfeiting activities must be firmly challenged globally."

The groups agreed to jointly adopt guidelines for use by trade show organizers to set in place strong rules against counterfeiting and encourage their disciplined, consistent enforcement of rules against counterfeiting. The groups plan to work together to approach trade show organizers, law enforcement officials, customers and customer organizations, sponsors, and the news media to raise the awareness of counterfeit parts and IPR violations.

The three associations will work to create an anti-counterfeiting exhibit, and will encourage other automotive trade associations to also participate in this exhibit at trade shows around the world. This tactic has been effective at reducing counterfeit product displays and IPR violations at trade shows where it has been done in the past.