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Velázquez 146. 1º Derecha
28002 Madrid SPAIN
T + 34 915 642 300
F + 34 915 633 538
www.sfplegal.comJoaquin Costa 24
28002 Madrid SPAIN
T + 34 915 642 300
F + 34 915 633 538www.sfplegal.com
GUIDE ON CUSTOMS‘ PROCEEDINGS FOR THE
SEIZURE OF COUNTERFEITS IN SPAIN AND
THE EU
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Counterfeits cause considerable harm to the holders of intellectual
property rights, both economical (resulting from the loss of benefits), and
moral (derived from the damage to its good will and reputation).
Depending on the type of product, counterfeits can also endanger the
health and safety of consumers producing irreparable harm.
In view of the above, right holders of intellectual property rights need
effective solutions to fight piracy, preventing the entry into the market of
counterfeits at both national and EU level.
To this end, the EU and Member States have established, by means of
Regulation (EU) 608/2013 concerning customs enforcement of intellectual
property rights, a procedure enabling Customs’ authorities to detain goods
suspected of infringing intellectual property rights effectively.
PRESENT SITUATION
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Spain has a strategic location:
Entry point of counterfeits in the EU market.
Transit point for goods from Asia and / or Africa.
9th position by number of seizures in the period of 2013-2014
According to data provided by the European Commission in its Customs 2014 report
(the last published).
FIGHT AGAINST COUNTERFEITS (I)
Total nr. of cases in EU 2013 2014
Cases 86.854 95.194
Total items seized 35.940.294 35.568.982
Total nr. of Cases in Spain 2013 2014
Cases 4.032 3.410
Total items seized 3.522.272 1.619.264
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According to statistical studies by the European Commission, the number of counterfeit
goods detained by Customs in Europe has declined considerably in recent years.
FIGHT AGAINST COUNTERFEITS (II)
Source: European Commission.
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According to statistical studies by the European
Commission, approximately 80% of counterfeit goods come
from China.
ORIGIN OF COUNTERFEITS
Source: European Commission.
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According to statistics from the European Commission the principal method of
delivery is by mail (small shipments).
However, the preferred means of introducing large quantities of products in
the EU is by sea freight.
The ratio between the number of cases of goods suspected of infringing an IP right found in
freight and in passenger traffic is around 97% and 3% respectively.
MAIN MEANS OF TRANSPORT
Source: European Commission.
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In terms of numbers of detained articles, the top 3 categories are cigarettes,
toys and medicines.
CATEGORIES OF ARTICLES SUBJECT TO
COUNTERFEIT
Source: European Commission.
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Customs authorities can act:
•Ex officio
•As a result of an application for action
In the last decade, the number of applications for customs action in
Member States has doubled.
APPLICATIONS FOR ACTION (I)
Source: European Commission.
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Comparative percentage of seizures carried out ex officio and
resulting from an application for action
APPLICATIONS FOR ACTION (II)
Source: European Commission.
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TYPES OF APPLICATION FOR ACTION ACCORDING TO THE SCOPE
OF PROTECTION:
APPLICATIONS FOR ACTION (III)
Coexistence of two main systems of protection:
National system: The protection granted is limited to the Spanish Territory.
EU system: With a single application, protection can extend to all Member
States (or more than one state belonging to the EU). In this case, the
applicant must designate a representative in each Member State.
With the exception of scope of protection, the general principles applicable to
both systems are basically the same.
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REQUIREMENTS TO REQUEST AN
APPLICATION FOR ACTION
Hold an intellectual property right and provide evidence, or
Hold an exclusive license over an intellectual property right provided the
licensee has been formally authorized by the right holder to act in defense of
the intellectual property rights.
Fill the specific application form before the competent Customs’ Authority.
Provide contact information of a representative of the right holder/licensee in
each Member state where protection is sought and an authorization to act on
their behalf.
Provide accurate and detailed technical information of both, original goods
and counterfeits (photos, product description, usual routes, etc.)
Undertaking of the right holder taking responsibility for the damage that the
seizure may cause to third parties, the costs of storage and destruction of
counterfeits.
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EFFECTS OF AN APPLICATION FOR ACTION
The Customs Authorities undertake to seize all goods suspected to
infringed the applicants’ designated IP rights.
After a seizure, Customs Authorities shall notify the contact person
designated by the applicant of the seizure file and shall upon its request ,
provide contact information of the importer / consignee of the goods and
pictures or samples of the products to determine the falsehood of the
goods.
Once the counterfeited nature of the goods is confirmed, Regulation
(EU) 608/2013 provides for two different procedures to be carried out in a
ten-day term since the notification of the seizure file.
• Regular procedure
• Simplified procedure
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EFFECTS OF AN APPLICATION FOR ACTION
(II)
Regular procedure:
File a criminal/civil complaint before the competent Court. (In civil
proceedings forum shopping would be possible).
Simplified procedure:
The holder of the application for assistance may address a
communication to the owner of the products requesting the destruction
of the goods.
Lack of reply to the aforesaid communication shall result in the
destruction of the goods without the need to start criminal
proceedings.
Opposition to the destruction shall imply the need to start criminal
proceedings however according to our experience, importers do not
oppose to the destruction.
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REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF
IPR -2014
In 85% of cases , the products have been destroyed
In 6.14% of cases criminal proceedings have been initiated.
In 2.82% of cases, the right holder confirmed that the merchandise was
original and the goods were released.
In 0.11% of cases, an agreement was reached with the owner of the
goods, including the release of the retained merchandise
Source: European Commission.
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ADVANTAGES OF THE CUSTOMS’
APPLICATION FOR ACTION
It is an effective way to prevent the entry of counterfeit products on the
market .
It provides relevant information regarding the importer / exporter that is
necessary to start Court actions against them.
In the same application for action several intellectual property rights may
be designated.
The Regulation provides for a simplified procedure through which the
destruction of the goods detained can be achieved without starting legal
proceedings.
Applications for action are valid for one year and are renewable for
successive one-year periods.
With a single application for assistance, protection can be obtained at
customs at all member states of the EU.
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RELATED LINKS
Regulation (EU) 608/2013 concerning customs enforcement of intellectual
property rights
Report on EU Customs enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Results at EU border 2014.
EU customs action to tackle the infringement of intellectual property rights
– Frequently Asked Questions
Statement pursuant to Regulation (EU) 608/2013 .
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Velázquez 146. 1º Derecha
28002 Madrid SPAIN
T + 34 915 642 300
F + 34 915 633 538
www.sfplegal.comJoaquín Costa 24
28002 Madrid SPAIN
T + 34 915 642 300
F + 34 915 633 538
www.sfplegal.com