Source: ISW Institute for the Study of War

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely intends to annex occupied southern and eastern Ukraine directly into the Russian Federation in the coming months to consolidate his control over these territories and possibly deter Ukrainian counterattacks. The Kremlin likely plans to annex much of the Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russian forces- portions of Kherson and Zaporizhia oblasts in the south and the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the east that Russian forces and their proxies control.

Whether it’s from a mobile phone, tablet or smart TV, online digital consumption is increasing and becoming the default choice for accessing film, TV, music, books, software and games. However, with this increase and demand comes piracy and as broadband speeds become faster and more affordable, businesses from across the creative industries are seeing more content being pirated and illegally accessed online.

Source: Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

Sanctions and Export Control Restrictions for Entities and Individuals

Under U.S. sanctions laws and export control regulations, certain entities and individuals (both foreign and domestic) may be subject to trade sanctions, embargoes, and other restrictions on exports, re-exports, or transfers of U.S.-origin items.  In addition, certain countries may be subject to either comprehensive or targeted sanctions or export restrictions.

1. Higher energy prices and trade disruptions could destabilise EU firms already weakened by the pandemic.
2. Rising inflation could push more Europeans under the poverty line. Households will be hit differently across and within countries?
3. Real economic growth in the European Union is now expected to fall below 3% in 2022, down from the 4% estimated by the European Commission before the war. A recession could happen, and further trade disruptions or increased economic sanctions would increase the risk for the European economy. 

In 1988 I was the Secretary General of the Geneva-based International Committee Against Counterfeiting (COLC) headed by the former President of the Swiss Confederation to fight on an international level against all attacks on intellectual property rights, namely counterfeiting and unfair competition as well as influence international, intergovernmental or supranational organizations as well as government leaders on the need for increased protection and law enforcement. We did call on many governments in Europe and around the world.

Authoritarian regimes are nations where political pluralism is nonexistent or severely limited. These nations are often absolute monarchies or dictatorships may have some conventional institutions of democracy but with meagre significance, infringements and abuses of civil liberties are commonplace, elections (if they take place) are not fair or free (including sham elections), the media is often state-owned or controlled by groups associated with the ruling regime, the judiciary is not independent, and censorship and suppression of governmental criticism are commonplace.

1. Adama (one of the world’s leading crop protection companies providing solutions to control weeds, insects and disease and improve yields). 
2. Adidas Group (global leader in the sporting-goods industry offering a broad portfolio of footwear,apparel and hardware for sport and lifestyle under the brands adidas, Reebok, Taylor Made and CCMHockey).
3. ​Storck (One of the world’s leading confectionary producers with well-known brands such as merci, Werther’s Original and Toffifee).

1. Perfumery and Cosmetics
2. Articles of leather, handbags
3. Clothing, knitted or crocheted
4. Clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted
5. Knitted or crocheted fabrics
6. Footwear
7. Watches
8. Toys and Games
9. Jewellery
10. Made up textile articles
11. Arms and Ammunitions
12. Pharmaceutical products
13. Electrical Machinery and Electronics
14. Optical, Photographic and Medical Apparatus
15. Plastic and Plastic Articles
16. Musical instruments
17. Machinery and Mechanical Appliances

In 2019, packaging materials were the third most frequently encountered counterfeit articles seized at the EU’s external border, continuing the trend from 2018 . In 2020, it was the top category . In 2020, packaging materials were also among the five most frequently encountered categories of counterfeit articles seized in the internal market, together with the category of labels, tags and stickers. The most commonly infringed IP violation in relation to packaging materials detained in 2020 were ‘trade marks’ (53 %) and ‘designs’ (46 %).

Piracy is the sale of goods that infringe copyright or design rights. It concerns both physical and digital goods. Piracy entails illegally copying and selling physical goods such as copies of copyright content in the form of CDs and DVDs; replica design objects; Technological Protection Measures (TPM) circumvention devices; TV decoder smartcards; fully loaded set-top boxes or sticks; digital content, such as copied software, activation keys for software, video games or databases; hacked accounts for streaming services; Computer-Aided Design (CAD) files; and e-books .