How to protect goods from infringement of intellectual property rights?

                Unfortunately, in Ukraine there is such a phenomenon as violation of the procedure of importation of goods containing objects of intellectual property rights (trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, less often - copyright objects).

                In other words, original goods are imported outside of customs control or by a person who is not authorized by the right holder to import goods into the customs territory of Ukraine. In the world practice this phenomenon is called "parallel import", but the Customs Code of Ukraine, as currently amended, calls the goods imported under the parallel import procedure "counterfeit" and falls under the regulation of Article 229 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

                The procedure of including the trademark to the customs register exists to prevent the importation of counterfeit goods into the customs territory, or it is imported by a person who is not authorized by the right holder.

                Today, there is a customs registry of intellectual property rights in Ukraine, which is maintained by the State Customs Service of Ukraine. Rights holders have the opportunity to fill in this registry with information on property rights to an intellectual property object.

                   If the rights holder believes that his rights were or could have been violated when moving goods across the customs border of Ukraine, he is entitled to apply to the State Customs Service for assistance in protection of his proprietary rights to the intellectual property object.

         It is possible to submit an application for inclusion of a trademark in the Customs Register electronically. In the application, it is necessary to indicate the following information:

- about the right holder;

- about the objects of intellectual property;

- About the person authorized on the issues related to the promotion of the rights to the object of intellectual property;

- about the goods, their packaging, the subjects of foreign economic activity, the term of registration in the registry (from 6 months to 1 year), etc.

After the expiry of the registration period, the right holder may apply with an application to extend this period.

         If the customs office reveals a violation of intellectual property rights during customs control, the clearance of goods is suspended, and they are placed in a warehouse until all the circumstances are clarified.

          The State Customs Service does not protect intellectual property rights, but only promotes the protection of those rights in the movement of goods across the customs border of Ukraine, in customs clearance and customs control of goods.

          According to the State Customs Service, as of October 6, 2021, there were 541 objects in the Customs Registry of Intellectual Property:

 - trademark with international registration, 215 units

- trademark registered in Ukraine, - 271 units;

- industrial design with international registration - 2 units; - 2 units;

- industrial design, registered in Ukraine - 9 units;

- objects of copyright and related rights - 43 units;

- invention - 1 item.

Protection of intellectual property is an important part of the state image in the world. The volume of goods turnover with different countries depends on how effective the organization of this process will be. It is especially important for large and medium-sized businesses which have a high turnover and whose goods are well-known brands.

Protect your goods from intellectual property rights violations. Armadum Lawyers provides a full range of legal services. Preliminary consultation by phone +380 50 288 34 14