Customs protection

One of the instruments that helps rightsholders to identify and prevent infringement of their exclusive rights is the Customs Intellectual Property Register (CIPR). CIPR, which is maintained by the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus, can comprise:

items of copyright and related rights;
trademarks;
appellations of origin.

Patent attorneys and lawyers of Lexpatent llc render a range of services related to the inclusion of intellectual property assets in CIPR, namely:

preparation and filing of an application for customs authorities to take measures to protect intellectual property rights;

Documents and information required for preparation and filing of the application for inclusion of the trademark in the Customs Intellectual Property Register:

information on the intellectual property asset and its owner;
information on goods containing the asset of intellectual property (specific names, codes of trade nomenclature of economic activity, places of manufacture, manufacturers, distinctive features);
list of bodies possessing the right to use the asset of intellectual property on the territory of the Republic of Belarus;
list of the customs procedures while disposal of goods under which, it is reasonable for customs authorities to take measures to protect the rights to the intellectual property object;
sufficiently detailed information on goods, import or export of which, or performance of other actions with which, while its stay under the customs control, entails violation of the rights of the owner (on his point of view), for the customs authorities to identify such goods;
a notarized and legalized (apostilled) power of attorney from the right holder.

conclusion of a contract of insurance of the liability of the right owner for the damage that may be caused to third parties in connection with the suspension of release of goods, including the payment of an insurance premium for the owner;
representation of the interests of the owner before customs authorities and importers, receipt of notifications on suspension of release of goods, preparation and submission of responses in reply;
protection of the rights of the owner, representation of his interests in the administrative and civil process.

}in order to include the asset in CIPR, the owner must have sufficient grounds to consider that his rights may be violated in connection with the import or export of goods;

}protective measures are not taken while disposal of goods under the customs procedures of transit and destruction;

}if the owner has not filed an application for cancellation of the decision on suspension of release of goods and has not applied for protection of his rights, the asset may be excluded from CIPR.

}CIPR is effective in detecting and suppression of parallel import attempts.

Suspension procedure. In case during the course of customs operations related to disposal under customs procedures of goods comprising intellectual property assets listed in CIPR, the customs authority discovers signs of violation of the rights of the owner, the term of release of such goods shall be suspended for 10 working days. Not later than 1 working day following the day of making a decision on suspension of release of goods, the customs authority shall notify the declarant and the owner or their representatives of such suspension.

Prior to the expiration of these 10 working days, the right owner should either apply for the cancelation of the decision on suspension of release of goods, or apply for protection of his rights, for example, to file an application with the customs authority to bring the importer to administrative responsibility for the offence provided by the Part 3 of the Article 9.21 of the Administrative Offences (illegal distribution or other illegal use of items of copyright, related rights or industrial property rights). Responsibility under this article comes only at the request of the right holder.