Advice and consultancy Protect yourself against piracy and counterfeiting
Piracy and counterfeiting are probably among the greatest problems encountered by owners of registered trade marks and designs. Until quite recently, music, clothing and watch manufacturers seemed to be the only victims, but now brand owners in almost every sector encounter a ready supply of cheap imitations of their goods, mostly from the Far East.
The trade in counterfeit goods not only causes a lot of damage to the rights holder's business, but also can mislead consumers and even endanger their health and safety, for example in the case of counterfeit medicines. Various measures have therefore been taken within the European Union to stem the flow of counterfeit goods. Tens of thousands of counterfeit goods have been seized during various joint operations involving the customs authorities of EU countries including operation FAKE in 2005.
EU Anti-Piracy Directive
The EU Anti-Piracy Directive 2004 has expanded the range of options for holders of intellectual property rights to take legal action where copies of products are involved. One of the options is to request the custom authorities to seize goods which are pirated, i.e. that are copies of your products, or counterfeit, i.e. on which your trade mark is used without your permission. Novagraaf can submit the request on your behalf.
If a request for action by the customs authorities is accepted, the custom authorities in the other EU member states are notified immediately and the borders of all EU countries are monitored for the alleged counterfeit or pirated goods. If the customs intercepts a consignment of suspect goods, they are held and you or your IP advisors are informed of the quantity and nature of the detained goods. You also have the option of examining the goods concerned and requesting information about the addressee or the sender and the origin of the goods.
Seizure of goods
After the goods have been detained, you have a period of ten days, which can be extended to a maximum of twenty days, to commence proceedings in the courts to obtain a judgement that the goods are infringing goods and subject to forfeiture. In view of the complexity and strict deadlines of this procedure, we recommend that you consult an IP specialist.
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