The Hellenic Industrial Property Organisation (OBI), in cooperation with the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) organised a specialised seminar on 15 October 2026, with the support of the Municipality of Rhodes, entitled “Intellectual Property (IP) Rights Enforcement – Supporting Law Enforcement Authorities in Identifying Infringing Products”.
The seminar was aimed at law enforcement authorities in Rhodes, with the objective of strengthening their efforts to combat the circulation of counterfeit and imitation products. Representatives of the Hellenic Police, Customs and Port Authorities attended the seminar, which took place in the Rhodes Municipal Council Chamber. The seminar was welcomed by Rhodes Deputy Mayor Nikos Tsoulos.
In her welcome address Rania Zacharopoulou, Head of the Communications Department at OBI and Project Manager of the Authenticities Programme, who also moderated the seminar, highlighted the importance of protecting intellectual property rights in Europe and Greece in particular.
The services of the EUIPO European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights were presented by Evangelia Stavropoulou, who also provided training on the Observatory’s IP Enforcement Portal database, which contains specialised information to assist law enforcement authorities in identifying counterfeit and imitation products.
Subsequently, company representatives provided training on identifying counterfeit and imitation products, presenting examples of seized goods.
- Identifying authentic tobacco products of PAPASTRATOS PHILIP MORRIS: Nikos Prentoulis, Lawyer, Partner at Prentoulis Gerakini Law Firm.
- Luxury watches: Michalis Kosmopoulos, Partner at Drakopoulos Law Firm, addressed the subject in his presentation.
- The LEGO Group: Information and examples were presented by Villy Davilla, Lawyer, LL.M., at Dr Eleni Papakonstantinou & Associates Law Firm.
- Identifying counterfeit alcoholic beverages: The key points that inspections should focus on were presented by George Papadogoulas, Lecturer and PhD Candidate at the University of West Attica.
The seminar concluded with a constructive discussion between the authorities and the speakers, as well as an exchange of successful case studies and practical approaches.
