The Czech Republic has adopted a new law concerning customs enforcement of intellectual property rights in relation to goods placed on the Czech national market (Act No. 355/2014 Coll.).

This law uses terms as defined in Article 2 of EU Regulation No 608/2013 concerning customs enforcement of intellectual property rights (the "Regulation"). It also follows the structure and rules of the Regulation.

It is expressly prohibited to deal with goods infringing intellectual property rights, in particular production, processing, transportation, storage, sale, other transfer, offer, import, export, placing on the market, taking over, use and keeping of such goods, unless such dealing is for personal use only. This law does not apply to goods that have been manufactured i) with the consent of the right-holder or ii) in excess of the quantities agreed on between the rights-holder and the licensed manufacturer of the goods.

The persons entitled to apply for the customs measures against suspected counterfeit goods on the territory of the Czech Republic are the same as those listed in Article 2 of the IP enforcement law no. 221/2006 Coll., implementing the IP enforcement directive 2004/48/EC, i.e. holders of IPRs, licensees (with the approval of the IPR holder), IP collective rights-management bodies and professional defence bodies. The IPRs are those enjoying protection in the territory of the Czech Republic (i.e. including EU-wide protection such as Community trade marks and Community designs). The applicants must not have any unpaid tax in the Czech Republic.

Customs will then grant a decision which is for a duration of 1 year and could be extended for another year on a repeated basis.

The decision can be revoked by Customs, in particular if the applicant failed timely to notify Customs of changes relevant to the application, failed to return samples, failed to pay the costs of storing and/or destruction of the seized goods or repeatedly failed without valid reason to file a declaratory petition in order to determine whether the seized goods are counterfeit or not.

The working day after the seizure, Customs shall notify the applicant about the seizure, the date of seizure, the quantities and nature of the seized goods and the identity of the person from whom the goods were seized, if known to the customs. Upon request, Customs shall provide to the applicant further information regarding the seized goods and persons who have been handling the goods, if known.

Unless the applicant files a request for a simplified procedure, it is obliged to inform Customs within 10 working days from the date of notification of the seizure (3 working days in case of perishable goods) that it has filed a declaratory petition seeking the court to determine that the seized goods are counterfeits.

Customs shall enable the applicant to inspect the seized goods and take samples for analysis, which must be returned or their destruction during examination must be proved.

The seized goods can be destroyed within the simplified procedure by Customs, without the need of a court decision about the counterfeit nature of the seized goods, if the applicant and the person from whom the goods were seized provide their consent to the destruction within 10 working days (3 working days in case of perishable goods) from the date of the notification of the seizure. The consent of the person from whom the goods were seized is considered granted, if he does not react to the notification from Customs or the person is not known. Consent to destroy the goods by the applicant is deemed to be the request to commence the simplified procedure. The goods are destroyed in front of a three member board of customs.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.