Enforcing intellectual property rights through customs is an essential mechanism for protecting brands, innovation, the economy and a key strategy to prevent counterfeit and pirated goods from entering the market. While customs authorities act as a first line of defense against the trade of infringing goods, the process involves collaboration between IP holders, customs authorities, and other stakeholders. It’s an ongoing process, requiring constant adaptation to address emerging threats and challenges. Customs Authority inspect shipments of goods on its own initiative. They have several tools at their disposal to prevent entry of infringing goods. These measures are typically taken at the border, during the importation or exportation process. There is also legislation available for the registration of IP rights with Customs. This allows rights holders to register, depending of the jurisdiction, their trademarks, patents, designs, copyrights, and other relevant IP rights with Customs to prevent the importation and distribution of counterfeit or infringing goods. For example, European Regulation No. 608/2013 enables the registration of IP rights, including trademarks, designs and patents, with European Union Customs. To initiate Customs surveillance, an application must be filed with Customs authorities, providing the Customs authorities with as much information as possible to help them identify goods potentially infringing the applicant’s IP rights. Once the application is submitted and approved, Customs will suspend the release of any goods they suspect of infringement. They will then notify the rights holder or their representatives, requesting an assessment to confirm whether the detained goods are authentic or counterfeit. If the goods are confirmed to be counterfeit, Customs will proceed in accordance with the laws of the European country where the goods were detained, whereas in some European countries is classified as a criminal offense, wherein in other the counterfeit goods will be confiscated and destroyed. This registration is a key measure to prevent counterfeit goods from entering the market in the specified jurisdiction.

We are prepared to assist you, through are tight connection with foreign associates at every stage of the process, including: (1) drafting and filing applications with Customs; (2) liaising with Customs authorities to ensure awareness of the rights to be monitored; (3) managing cases of suspected infringement reported by Customs.

Please contact your patent attorney if you wish now or in the future to file suitable applications to resister your IP rights in specified customs or otherwise assert your IP rights.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this webpage does not constitute legal advice and is intended for general informational purposes only. Information on this webpage may not reflect the most up-to-date legal developments or other information. The webpage contains links to other third-party websites for convenience purposes only. Ehrlich Group assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this page.