Amendments to Customs Code adopted

The Ukrainian Parliament adopted on November 16 2006 Draft Law 2414 'On Amending the Customs Code of Ukraine', which deals with the protection of IP rights with respect to goods transferred through the customs border of Ukraine. The law obtained a majority of votes on second reading.

The law alters Articles 255 to 257 and 345 of the Customs Code, moreover it provides for a new Article 257(1). The provisions of the new law bring some changes with respect to the Customs Register held with the purpose of protecting IP rights, including rights in trademarks. The new law expands the previously renames the Register of Products Containing Intellectual Property Objects to the Register of Intellectual Property Objects and also brings changes to the procedure for suspension of goods infringing IP rights.

Article 257(1) of the Customs Code, created by the Draft Law, grants customs authorities the right to suspend customs processing of products on their own initiative, provided that there are sufficient grounds to suspect that those goods infringe IP rights, and the owner of the IP rights has been identified. The owner, being duly notified about such infringement, has the right to bring an action to claim damages, after having guaranteed the reimbursement of expenses and damages related to the suspension of customs processing of the products concerned.

Additionally, according to the new Draft Law, customs authorities must not apply measures related to the suspension of customs registration in relation to products which contain IP objects and which are simply being moved through the customs territory of Ukraine by transit or imported into or exported from the customs territory of Ukraine by natural persons for private use only or sent by means of international post services.

Julia Semeniy, Konnov & Sozanovsky, Kiev