The Italian Post and Customs will launch a pilot project in mid-2009 aimed at better identifying counterfeit or pirated goods in the mail. Sending such items through the post can have severe consequences for the economy and can even put lives at risk if counterfeit medicines are involved. The initiative was announced on Monday at a meeting of the Postal Security Group, part of the UPU's Postal Operations Council.
The project will enable postal and customs officials to spend four to five days at Milan’s exchange office, examining mail items suspected of containing illicit goods. In addition to examining the types of goods being copied and their value, it is hoped that general patterns will come to light, leading to the developing of best practices. These, in turn, could help other countries to stamp out counterfeiting.
A resolution adopted by the 24th Universal Postal Congress in 2008 urged Posts, within the framework of their national laws, to assist customs to identify counterfeit or pirated articles sent through the postal network. While Posts lack powers to enforce the law against pirated items themselves, they may hold transmission data that could be helpful to custom authorities.