Trademark holders are taking active measures to protect their intellectual property every day as in the current economic development environment, brands are becoming increasingly important. Not only does the protection of brands insure companies against reputational risks, but it also protects them against material damage from sales of counterfeit or 'gray' goods.
We have prepared a checklist for entrepreneurs, which will help them to calculate possible risks and optimize their activities when delivering goods of foreign brands.
1. First of all, it is recommended, prior to the delivery of goods itself, to check whether the trademarks on the imported goods are included in the Customs Register of Intellectual Property Objects (CRIPO). See the register here. It contains a list of trademarks for which the customs authorities of the Republic of Belarus apply a special mechanism to protect the rights of trademark holders by suspending the release of goods for 10 working days. Pay attention: customs authorities are only guided by the information contained in the CRIPO, but are in no way limited by it. The release of goods can be suspended even if the trademark on the goods is not included in the CRIPO, but customs authorities, for instance, suspect that the goods are being delivered illegally. Thus, when planning the delivery of goods, it might be worth including in the delivery time a 10-day period for a possible suspension of the release of goods.
2. If you find that the trademark you are interested in is included in the CRIPO, we recommend to contact the trademark holder's representatives and clarify whether it is possible to negotiate the delivery of goods of their brand in advance. You can also find the contact details of the trademark holder's representatives in the CRIPO. If the trademark holder is willing to agree on the delivery of goods, then you are most likely to be required to provide a set of documents for approval. It usually includes commercial documents for the delivery (CMR, invoice, specification), as well as photos of imported goods (not pictures from a catalogue). The exact list of documents must be specified in each case.
If the trademark holder refuses to negotiate the delivery in advance, the above set of documents will still need to be sent to the trademark holder's representatives, but after the goods are placed under the customs procedure and upon the suspension of the release of goods.
3. On the day of filing the declaration, you can contact the trademark holder's representatives again to notify them that the declaration on delivery has been submitted, as well as clarify whether the delivery documents should be sent to the trademark holder's representatives. This will save time since, by the time you receive a notification from customs about the suspension of the release of goods, the trademark holder's representatives will already have the necessary documents, which they will be able to immediately send to the trademark holder for approval.
4. Next, you just need to wait for the trademark holder to let you know of their decision. As an interested party, you may contact the trademark holder's representatives to clarify information about the delivery during the suspension period, but it may take the trademark holder a different amount of time to make a decision in each case. You should keep in mind that the trademark holder's representatives have no influence on the decision-making process, nor can they speed it up. It would be reasonable to leave your contact details to stay in touch and to ask the trademark holder's representatives to notify you of the decision taken as soon as it is received.
Follow this recommendations and evaluate the entrepreneurial risk when delivering goods of foreign brands!
ave. Nezavisimosti, 56-302 Minsk, Belarus, 220005
mon-fr: 9.00 - 18.00
