Counterfeit and Pirated Goods - CDPN39
Council Regulation (EU) No 1383/2003 (PDF) 
and Commission Regulation (EU) No 1891/2004 (PDF) provide enhanced measures for Customs action against counterfeit and pirated goods by improving procedures and extending their scope to new Intellectual Property Rights (trademarks, design rights, copyrights, patents, plant varieties, geographical designations or related rights).
The Regulations also provides that where Customs, in the course of normal checks, encounter goods that appear to be counterfeit or pirated, they may notify the Right Holder of a possible infringement. In such cases the goods may be detained by Customs for a period of 3 working days to allow for the required application for action to be made by the Right Holder.
Goods infringing an Intellectual Property Right means: -
Counterfeit Goods: -
- Goods (including packaging) bearing, without authorisation, a trade mark which is
identical to the trade mark validly registered in respect of the same type of goods, or
which cannot be distinguished in its essential aspects from such trade mark, and which
thereby infringes the rights of the holder of the trade mark in question under Community or National
Law;
- Any trade mark symbol (logo, label, sticker, brochure, instruction manual or guarantee document bearing a symbol), whether presented separately or not, in the same circumstances as the goods referred to above;
- Packaging materials bearing the trade marks of counterfeit goods presented separately in the same circumstances as the goods referred to above.
Pirated Goods: -
- Goods which are or contain copies made without the consent of the holder of a copyright or related right or design right, regardless of whether it is registered in National Law or
- Goods of a person authorised by the right-holder in the country of production in cases where the making of those copies would constitute an infringement of that right under Community or National Law.
Goods that infringe: -
- A patent under National Law
- A Supplementary Protection Certificate provided for in Community Law
- A Plant Variety Right provided for in Community or National Law
- Designations of origin or geographical indications provided for in Community or National Law and
- Geographical designations provided for in Community Law.
Other counterfeit or pirated goods: -
- Any mould or matrix which is specifically designed or adapted for the manufacture of a counterfeit trade mark or of goods bearing such a trade mark or of pirated goods will be treated as counterfeit or pirated goods, as appropriate, provided that the use of such moulds or matrices infringes the rights of the holder of a right under Community or Irish law.
The Regulations do not cover the following: -
- Goods manufactured with the consent of the holder of a right but entered for free circulation, export, re-export or for another Customs procedure without his/her consent;
- Goods manufactured with the consent of the holder of a right which have been manufactured or bear a trade mark under conditions other than those agreed with the holder;
- Goods of a non-commercial nature contained in travellers’ personal luggage within the limits laid down in respect of relief from Customs duty; or
- Goods in free circulation in the European Union moving between Member States.
Right Holder means: -
- The holder of a trademark, copyright or related right, design right, patent, supplementary protection certificate, plant variety right, protected designation of origin, protected geographical indication and, more generally, any right referred to above; or
- Any other person authorised to use any of the intellectual property rights mentioned above, or a representative of the Right Holder or Authorised User.
Application for Action
Statutory Instrument No 344 of 2005 (PDF, 101KB) nominates the Office of the Revenue Commissioners as the competent authority in relation to these Regulations. A Right Holder, Authorised User or a representative may make an application to Revenue to take action to prevent the import, export, re-export of goods suspected of infringing on their Intellectual Property Rights when the goods are
being imported from or exported to any country outside of the European Union.
When making and Application for Action, the Right Holder, Authorised User or representative must: -
- Provide Customs with a sufficiently accurate description to make identification possible; and
- Provide proof that the applicant is the holder of the right in question.
The application, when granted, is valid for a maximum period of 12 months and may be renewed annually. Applications may not extend beyond the end of the period for which the right is validly registered.
Manual for applications for customs action
The manual explains the IPR application procedure and provides guidance on questions that might arise.
The manual consists of 2 main parts; one for national applications and one for Community applications. It further contains recommended forms for providing information to the customs authorities.
The Applications for Action (National and Community), the notes on completion and the declaration form are available in PDF and Excel formats and can be downloaded from the following links: -
National Application Form
Notes on Completion & Declaration Form - Annex I (PDF)
National Application (Excel)
Notes on Completion & Declaration Form - Annex I (Word)
Community Application Form
Notes on Completion & Declaration Form - Annex II (PDF)
Notes on Completion & Declaration Form - Annex II (Word)
Submission of additional information by Right Holders and Industry:
Two forms, the Red Alert Form & the New Trends Form have been designed in close collaboration with industry to provide a mechanism for Right Holders and Industry to notify Customs in a clear and structured way and without delay about specific information or general trends concerning suspected counterfeit goods.
The Red Alert Form should be used by Right Holders and Industry to notify Customs of urgent specific detailed information they have about suspected counterfeit consignments.
The New Trends Form should be used by Right Holders and Industry to notify Customs of new trends in counterfeiting that they become aware of which can then be used by Customs in profiling consignments to aid in detection of counterfeit goods.
The New Trend Form and Red Alert Form should be forwarded to:
Investigations & Prosecutions Division
Customs Investigations & Co ordination
Ashtowngate
Navan Rd
Dublin 15
Ireland
Phone: 00 353 1 8277507
Email: ipr@revenue.ie
Further information may be obtained from and applications may be made to: -
Office of the Revenue Commissioners,
Risk, Prohibitions & Restrictions Unit,
Customs Division,
Government Offices,
Nenagh,
Co Tipperary.
Phone: +353 67 63330/63441.
October 2010
E-mail:RevenueCustomsProhibitionsRestrictions@revenue.ie
October 2010