Intellectual Property FAQ Customs-Related Issues FAQ   1. What are the main measures that the Customs authorities provide to protect IP? Nowadays, the legislation of the Russian Federation (hereinafter - RF) provides efficient measures directed to suppress the circulation of illegal goods, which infringe Intellectual Property rights. These measures can be divided roughly into two groups: 1) Registration of Intellectual Property in the Customs Intellectual Property Registry; 2) Filing applications of enforcement with the Customs authorities, indicating administrative and/or criminal offense. 2. What are the main benefits from the registration of an IP object in the Customs IP Register? The registration of an IP object with the Customs IP Registry provides the right holder and owner of the IP object with the following rights and possibilities: to identify infringers and grey market players; to control unauthorized distribution channels and shipments; to prevent infringements from taking place through import/export into/from Russia; to develop and broaden your product's market in Russia; to stop competitors from benefiting from the reputation of your product; to identify underpayment of royalties to licensees; to maximize the revenue from the use of your intellectual property in Russia; to create a good image and reputation of your intellectual property in Russia, enabling Russian consumers to enjoy benefits derived from the quality of your goods/services 3. What kinds of Intellectual Property objects can be registered with the Customs IP Registry? An owner of the following IP objects has the right to file a request with the Russian Customs to suspend the release of infringing goods: Copyright; Allied rights; Trademarks and service marks; Appellations of the origin of goods. Requests concerning IP objects such as inventions, utility models, and industrial designs are not accepted. 4. Who may apply for a customs registration? A request can be filed by a right holder or by another person (e.g. a licensee, an authorized importer (exporter), a declarant, or a representative), who is authorized by the right holder to lodge such a request via a power of attorney. 5. What is the Statement filed with the Customs Authorities? If an IP object is not properly registered with the Customs register, or the right holder needs to urgently prevent the release of the suspected counterfeit goods, the Customs Regulation provides the right holder with an opportunity to file a statement. In order for the Customs authorities take measures in connection with signs of administrative and/or criminal offence, the provided statement must include data containing actual, specific information about the circumstances of the assumed offence (i.e., place, time and measures of the action). 6. How do the Customs authorities protect the registered IP object? After the registration of an IP object with the Customs Register, the Russian Federal Customs Office forwards the information to the regional customs offices, who inform their subordinate customs bodies and interested persons. The information sent to the customs bodies is accompanied by specific data, which enables customs authorities to identify counterfeit goods. It is stipulated by the Russian legislation, that any unauthorized use of an IP object entails civil, administrative and/or criminal responsibility. For example, the illegal use of a trademark, service mark or an appellation of origin belonging to another person or persons, are punishable by administrative fines (that amounts to about 1000, -EUR) and the confiscation of those articles, which are illegal reproductions of the trademark, service mark or an appellation of origin. If further investigation reveals that the criminal offense has been ongoing or repetitive and has caused major damage to the reputation of the IP object or the right holder, the infringer may be punished by fines from 200 000 rubles (about 5500, -EUR) or five years of imprisonment. In the event that a customs official detects suspected counterfeit good when checking the customs declaration of goods being imported or exported, the release of such goods shall be suspended for ten business days. These acquired goods are placed under temporary suspension. The Customs authorities are authorized to prepare statements of administrative offenses (as specified in Art. 14.10 of RF Code on Administrative Offences) for a subsequent transfer to arbitration tribunals. In an instance of criminal offence, the customs authority (as an investigative body), forwards a notification and all materials containing evidence of the offense to the supervising public prosecutor, who determines the jurisdiction of the offense. In instances where the offense is brought to administrative responsibilities and prosecuted in a court, the right holder of the IP object does not appear as the plaintiff but as a third party. If the right holder applies for protection of his IP object and/or initiates administrative and/or criminal proceedings, the right holder is entitled to file a written statement, which shall extend the duration of suspension for the release of illegal goods. In instances where the customs body does not timely receive the decision to seize and arrest or confiscate the goods prior to the expiration of the suspension term for the release of illegal goods, the suspension term for the release of illegal goods shall be deemed null and void.

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