Eduardo Mallea, founder of Mallea Abogados, was invited by the Colegio Público de la Abogacía to join the academic board of a conference on “Current Issues in the Business World: Digital Fraud and Anti-Piracy, Intellectual Property, Trademark Fraud and Illicit Trade,” and to moderate a panel on Trademark Fraud and Illicit Trade within the framework of this event.

Dr. Eduardo Mallea, founder of Mallea Abogados and former Director General de Aduanas, opened and moderated the panel “Intellectual Property. Actions against Trademark Fraud and Illicit Trade” during this conference, held on Wednesday, September 3 at the UCEMA Auditorium, organized by the Colegio Publico de Abogados.

In his remarks, Mallea underlined the importance of both border control and domestic market enforcement in the fight against illicit trade in Argentina. He stressed that it is crucial for Customs to work in coordination with the private sector and the judiciary to ensure that the measures implemented are effective and sustainable over time. He referred to security strategies deployed along Argentina’s northern border—particularly the frontier with Bolivia—highlighting the need to reinforce state presence and intensify the fight against smuggling.

Mallea invited Germán Elisseche, from the Prohibitions and Trademark Fraud Division of the Dirección General de Aduanas, who discussed various measures carried out by the agency to prevent counterfeit products and illicit goods from entering the country, including the Alert Records system. He explained how this and other mechanisms are implemented by Customs in cooperation with trademark owners to safeguard registered brands, both at the border and within the domestic market.

Mallea also invited Camila Agustín Sarmiento and Florencia Maciel from Mercado Libre, who presented the company’s Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance program (MACA), a collaborative initiative between Mercado Libre and private companies. The program enables both the tech giant and brand owners to monitor and report counterfeit products on the platform, promote joint legal actions, and ensure the swift removal of illegal listings, thereby fostering a safer and more transparent e-commerce ecosystem.

Through this dynamic, the panel brought together perspectives from both the public and private sectors, reaffirming the need for joint actions to protect intellectual property and combat illicit trade.

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