World Customs Organization

In 2007 WCO/OMD changed its organisation. One of the consequences is that the secretariat of the former WCO IPR Strategic Group is no longer in the hands of trade participants and right holders. It was then agreed to form a new entity under the name of IPR Business Partnership - see the summary of its first meeting here below - and to continue to support/complement WCO initiativesand to actively participate in the new SECURE Working Group. The new partnership also wants to widen the scope and to support initiatives in other organizations and to remain available to national administrations. In that sense the technical assistance programme that had been running under the old IPR Strategic Group will be carried on. It will also develop position(s) regarding urgent issues like liability transport sector; simplified proceedings; goods in transit, etc.

JANUARY 2014

Customs Regulation review

As of 1 January 2014 a new Regulation (608/2013), concerning customs enforcement IPR, will come into force. The new regulation provides procedural rules for cstoms authorities to enforce intellectual property rights with regard to goods liable to customs supervision or customs control.

The new regulation does not change the definition of the infringing goods that can be detained and seized by customs at the point of import into the EU, so the fundamental aspects of the old system remain. The changes include:

- Expanding the range of IPR infringements covered (look alikes, topographies of semiconductors, trade names, utility models, technical circumvention devices).

 - Provisions to address the growing problem of counterfeits imported by post or courier in small consignments

 - Improvements to the accelerated procedure to secure destruction without a court order of the illegally imported goods detained

 - Relaxation of the rules (applied with varying strictness around the EU) about the use by rights holders of information learned from customs officers.

The new regulation does not seek to change the rules on goods in transit through the EU. The position therefore remains namely that even if the goods infringe rights in the country where detained, they cannot be seized unless there is a "substantial likelihood" that they will be diverted from their transit into the EU market. 

EU Customs figures 2012

EU Customs detained almost 40 million products suspected of violating IPR in 2012. Although this is less than the 2011 figure, the value of the intercepted goods is still high, at nearly €1 billion.

The total amount of articles detained decreased by 65% compared to 2011, to almost 40 million articles in 2012. With reference to IPR rights the percentage of articles that are subject to copyright and related rights (a.o CD/DVD) only count for 1,17% as trademarks do 94,3%..... The value of these rights does not exceed 1%.... The total number of copyright related articles detained is 52.260 on a total of 39 million articles. There were (only) 636 cases, on a total of a little more that 90.000 cases.

In terms of where the fake goods were coming from, China continued to be the main source. Around 90% of all detained cases were either destroyed or a court case was initiated to determine the infringement.

The last 3 years, customs have seen a shift towards small packages of IPR infringing goods coming into the EU via post and couriers. This is most probably due to the more intense use of the Internet and the possibilities consumers have to buy goods via the Internet and have them delivered directly at their home. Together with the possibilities of legal, as well as illegal, downloading this most likely explains the relatively small share on the total ofdetained illegal products.

 E-commerce review

The Commission published a report in 2013 outlining the state of play on the implementation of the e-commerce action plan 2012-2015, that was presented in January 2012, to accelerate the development of on-line services and in particular of e-commerce. The report shows that many important actions set out in the action plan have already been initiated (for example in the areas of reinforcing consumer protection; improving parcel delivery and payments; fighting abuse; and integrating technological developments).

The remaining ones are underway. Further close monitoring is needed both with respect to the elements of this action plan and market developments. A stakeholder conference in the near future to take stock of progress and assess future needs is part of the plan.

Enforcement Directive review

An online public consultation on the efficiency of proceedings and accessibility of measures for the civil enforcement of intellectual property rights was launched in November 2012 and closed on 30 March 2013. This survey was part of a more general consultation process that has lasted for over two years and from which conclusions will be drawn in a future Communication from the Commission.

 It is possible that the Directive will be opened in 2014 as the Commission is considering updating the copyright legislation to make it fit for the digital age, which may necessitate also a reopening of the Enforcement Directive.

Link to the list of contact details for Customs for submitting application forms (published by the Commission on 29 January 2008)