Romania – New Customs Law Regarding Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Enters Into Force on February 3, 2006

Under the new law the customs survey applications will be free of charge.

The applications should include the following information:

Contact details of the right holder and its representative,

An accurate and detailed technical description of the goods,

The specific information the right-holder has concerning the type of fraud, and

Any other available information such as:

• The pre-tax value of the original goods on the legitimate market in the country in which the application for action is lodged

• The location of the goods or their intended destination

• Particulars identifying the consignment or packages

• The scheduled arrival or departure date of the goods

• The means of transport used

• The identity of the importer, exporter or holder of the goods

• The country or countries of production and the routes used by traffickers, and

• The technical differences, if known, between the authentic and suspect goods.

Along with the application, the right holder will be required to submit the statement accepting liability for his/her omissions, including subsequent finding that the goods in question do not infringe the right holder’s intellectual property. The right-holder shall also agree to cover all costs incurred in keeping the goods under customs control, including the costs involved in destroying the infringing goods.

All applications filed under the current law should be supplemented with the above outlined statement as required by the new law.

The new law provides that under certain circumstances the infringing goods may be destroyed without initiating any legal actions.

Please contact Marilena Oprea in our Romania office for more information on the new law.