On actions to protect the rights of intellectual property of the copyright holder taken by customs authorities

Customs authorities occupy an important place among the state bodies involved in the orbit of intellectual property protection because their activities are directly related to preventing delivery of counterfeit products into the customs territory of the EEU.

It's no secret to anyone that the global market for fake goods is constantly expanding. Unscrupulous manufacturers and suppliers are actively trying to fill the market with counterfeit goods.

At the same time, individual types of counterfeit goods not only violate the legitimate interests of official manufacturers and the image of Kazakhstan in forming mutually beneficial economic ties with partner states, they also serve as a threat to the security of our citizens.

In this regard, preventing the penetration of counterfeit products into the market of Kazakhstan is one of the priority tasks of the customs posts of the East Kazakhstan region.

Thus, during customs control, customs post officials of the SRD for the East Kazakhstan region found goods included in the unified customs register of intellectual property objects according to 14 declarations for goods for the first half of 2022. After that, the release of the goods was suspended, and a notify of the suspension of the release was sent to the representative of the copyright holder.

After that, according to 8 declarations for goods (11 trademarks) the release of goods was resumed with the permission of representative of copyright holders.

For the remaining goods, the following measures were taken after receipt of an application from representative of copyright holders for suppression of violations of trademark and intellectual property rights, in relation to the illegal use of trademarks, violation of the exclusive right of the trademark owner, signs of counterfeit goods:

- regarding 6 declarations for goods - 10 trademarks were identified, such as: Hyundai, Toyota, Nissan, Avtovaz, Samsung, Prada, Kia, HI–Q, SKF, JTEKT (19 items of goods), 6 administrative materials were compiled based on the Article 158 of the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan «On Administrative Offenses» (illegal use of another’s trademark OIP). Court No. 2 of Urdzhar district of the East Kazakhstan region imposed a fine totaling 367,560 tenge with confiscation of goods for subsequent destruction.

- regarding 1 declaration for goods (air filters under the brand name "Hyundai"), the materials were transferred to the EID of the East Kazakhstan Region, on the basis of Article 222 of Kazakhstan's Criminal Code «Illegal use of another’s trademark«, the damage caused to the right holder amounted to 7 560 000 tenge. A criminal case has been initiated.

It must be noted that the illegal use of a trademark in accordance with Article 222 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code imposes criminal liability if the damage caused exceeds 2,000 MCI.

 

            Deputy Head of the SRD for the East Kazakhstan region, Ktanov Е.S.