Topic: Anti-counterfeiting

Tea farmers associations in Taiwan have announced plans to register the geographical indications Alishan and Ali Mountain as trademarks in China. It is hoped that registration, coupled with changes to the packaging of tea from the Alishan region, will help to deter counterfeiters in China.

02 September 2004

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that it cannot provide appellate review of a district court's refusal to grant an <i>ex parte</i> seizure order under the anti-counterfeiting provisions of the Lanham Act. The ruling is at odds with decisions of the Third and Sixth Circuits, which indicate that seizure orders are similar to preliminary injunctions in that they can be appealed immediately.

29 July 2004

Hungary has established the Intellectual Property Enforcement Department in order to prevent the importation of pirated and counterfeit goods from other countries. IP rights holders may request that the department take action to prevent or suspend the release of such goods into circulation. The only problem is that the new rules are not in compliance with new EU regulations that took effect on July 1.

27 July 2004

The Interior Ministry of Vietnam has issued Decision 22/2004/QD-BNV on the Establishment of the Vietnam Association for Anti-counterfeiting and Trademark Protection. The VATAP is a voluntary association of Vietnamese economic organizations that will, among other things, propose measures to deal with counterfeiting and to protect trademarks.

12 July 2004

The implementation of a new regulation last week gives rights holders a better chance of stopping counterfeiters bringing infringing goods into the European Union. The new regulation clarifies and strengthens existing procedures, including removing the requirement that rights holders pay a fee or provide security when asking customs authorities to investigate and detain suspect goods.

05 July 2004

In <i>Hunter Amenities International Ltd v Dorothy Prentice Aromatherapy Inc</i>, the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Virginia has found Hunter Amenities International Ltd liable for trademark counterfeiting under the Lanham Act. Hunter had continued to manufacture and sell bath and beauty products under Dorothy Prentice's trademarks after its licence agreement had been terminated, using imitations of Dorothy Prentice's fragrance.

04 June 2004

The Belgian Constitutional Court has ruled that trademark owners should be allowed to request seizure orders for suspected counterfeit goods, even though the Belgian Judicial Code does not list mark owners among the parties eligible for such relief. The court held that not allowing mark owners to use these proceedings would violate the provisions of the Belgian Constitution on equality and non-discrimination.

18 May 2004

In <i>Ong Ah Tiong v Public Prosecutor</i>, the Chief Justice of Singapore has upheld a sentence of 32 months' imprisonment for breach of the Trademarks Act and Copyright Act. He noted that the increasingly stringent approach that Singapore courts are taking against IP infringement is justified by the fact that, among other things, Singapore is a prominent business hub and its government has made strong efforts to promote it as a regional IP centre.

13 May 2004

As part of the Italian government's measures to fight counterfeiting, Minister for Productive Activities Antonio Marzano has launched a campaign to inform the Italian public on the impact counterfeiting has on the national economy. Marzano also disclosed details of other anti-counterfeiting measures that were first announced when the Finance Act 2004 was introduced to Parliament.

12 May 2004

Taiwan's largest online auctioneer has cancelled the accounts of threesellers after the Criminal Investigation Bureau confirmed that they were sellingknockoffs of products manufactured by the British label Burberry. The move ispart of the government's attempt to stamp out the sale of counterfeit goods overthe Internet.

11 May 2004