The Commission's Taxation and Customs Union Directorate (TAXUD) and US Customs and Border Protection seized the components in November and December last year. It was the first time they acted together on intellectual property enforcement. They had agreed in 2006 that they would collaborate.
"The EU and US are fully committed to combating counterfeiting and piracy at home and abroad," said Robert Verrue, director general for taxation and customs at the Commission. "This shows that customs administrations are prepared to tackle difficult enforcement challenges and issues, especially when the health and safety of our citizens is at stake.”
The co-ordination resulted in the seizure of 360,000 integrated circuits, or computer chips, bearing over 40 different trade marks a Commission statement said.
“It is important to also recognize that there is a vitally important but discreet role that these components play in the everyday infrastructure of our societies," said Dan Baldwin, assistant commissioner of US Office of International Trade.."We therefore need to be able to rely on systems that are supported by them across various sectors, particularly as it relates to national security.”
In 2006 the European Commission and the US agreed a programme of action to combat intellectual property infringements and chose to focus on fake computer chips.
"These products were selected for the joint operation because they present safety and security risks in addition to [intellectual property] infringement risk," said the Commission's statement. It said that the Commission believed there were "national security and health and safety implications" of using fake chips, and that their potential use in aircraft, cars and medical devices could put users in danger.
