New system to ensure that ‘pirate’ TRIPS at entry point

With Intellectual Property Right (IPR) violations becoming a major cause of concern for Indian industry, the Customs Department has now launched a unique...

With Intellectual Property Right (IPR) violations becoming a major cause of concern for Indian industry, the Customs Department has now launched a unique system to nip the problem in the bud. Under the process started on May 8, all trademark, copyright, design and patent holders can register their rights with the department, allowing customs sleuths to identify and intercept counterfeit goods at the point of entry — namely airports and

seaports.

The new system comes as a part of a larger framework of “border procedure” rules that is Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS )-compliant.

Here’s how it would work: The IPR, once registered with the Customs Department, would be stored in electronic databases and flashed across all 43 airports and seaports in the country. The IPR holder can then inform the department about possible counterfeit or pirated goods entering the country, giving details of the consignment or the type of intellectual property right infringement.

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“Goods that arrive into the country are kept at the port only for a couple of days, until the relevant duties have been paid. This makes it tough for us to identify counterfeit goods. The new system will ensure that we can nab such goods swiftly by comparing them to our intellectual property right database,” says a senior customs and excise official. Industry experts feel the move will help significantly in curbing the entry of counterfeit goods, which primarily originate from countries like China and Malaysia.

“Today, the major industries that are affected by counterfeiting are software, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, automobiles and spare parts. The Indian film industry, with revenues of $1.75 billion, too loses about 50 per cent of its revenues to piracy,” explains International Trademark Association (INTA) representative Pravin Anand.

According to Anand, such measures can reduce counterfeit-related losses in the country by over 30 per cent.

The new system would get teeth due to the adjudication powers that have been granted to the Customs Department, through the newly enacted “Intellectual Property Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules 2007”. “Once the IPR holder has ‘joined issue’ with us, we can not only detain the goods but also confiscate them, impose costs towards the damage and destruction of counterfeits as well as penalise and prosecute erring parties,” says the customs official, who feels that such powers will act as a big deterrent against imported counterfeits.

Protecting IPRs

• IPR owners can register rights with Customs Department

• Registered IPRs to be flashed at airports & seaports

• Electronic databases to be used

• Counterfeit goods to be confiscated

• Customs Department to impose penalties, take legal action

• Imported counterfeits likely to be reduced by a third.

• The fee is just Rs 2,000