The Custom has an ex officio duty to monitor all the goods coming into a country – and the right to stop any shipments that seem to be infringing on IP rights.
Still, we recommend filing the annual Custom’s surveillance petition (which is optional), as it enables our clients to directly inform the Customs about the ways to identify original goods versus the counterfeit goods and thus provides a possibility of more vigilant protection. The most efficient way of doing so is to enclose a booklet most companies have on recognizing the original brand.
One petition can cover multiple trade mark registrations/applications by the same owner and lasts 12-24 months.
To find out more, you can read ‘ Top 3 reasons annual Custom’s surveillance petition in the Balkans’ and we welcome you to contact us to find out more.
In our longstanding practice in the field of IP protection, we have extensive experience in seizure cases. Our firm has taken part in many such cases over the past 15 years on behalf of our clients from various industries – from clothing/textile to auto industry and cosmetic industry. Many seizure cases had to be resolved before the Court, through litigation or in -Court settlements, although some were resolved by out-of-Court settlements.
Today, with the laws harmonized with EU, most cases follow the ‘short procedure’ where the goods are destroyed if the imported doesn’t object, in which case, the matter goes before the Court.
Contact us to find out how our vast experience in seizure cases the can help your brand.
Besides potentially infringing goods being stopped at the border – it is still possible to have them seized if they somehow do end up in the market place. This is sometimes done ex-officio, too – but it can also be done if the client suspects it and requests the Market Inspection to investigate.
As in Customs matters, here, it is also possible to file an annual petition so that the Market Inspectors are better informed about the qualities of the original product, which helps them to spot infringing products easier.
We offer our clients our 360 enforcement Program – which combines the annual petitions for both Customs and the Market Inspection in one bundle.