Intellectual property (IP) occupies an important place in the economy of any country, since it determines the strategy for its development.
However, with its development, the risk of violation of the rights of IP rights holders also increases, since exported goods are often themselves IP objects or contain their elements, which means they serve as a target for unscrupulous competitors and require state protection
One of the important mechanisms for controlling the turnover and protection of IP objects, aimed at protecting the interests of their rights holders, is the Customs Register of Intellectual Property Objects (TRIIS, Register). The TRIIS contains information about objects of copyright and related rights,
and appellations of origin of goods (APPO) upon applications from Russian or foreign individuals and legal entities, as well as individual entrepreneurs. Thanks to TROIS, it is possible to track and prevent the penetration of illegal products into the market, and therefore the violation of the legal rights of bona fide owners of IP objects, as well as reduce their financial losses.
To enter information about IP objects into TRIIS, you must send a package of documents with this data electronically through your personal account on the website of the Federal Customs Service (FCS) of Russia or on paper. Maintaining the Register, receiving and considering applications from IP right holders or their representatives regarding the entry of information or extension of deadlines for their entry, as well as information about changes or additions with new data or exclusion of IP objects from the Register is within the competence of the Federal Customs Service of Russia.
The Federal Customs Service also publishes a list of IP objects included in registers (
https://customs.gov.ru/registers/objects-intellectual-property
), brings information to the attention of customs authorities and regulates their interaction with government bodies, citizens and organizations on issues related to maintaining registers.
In this article we will look at the features of entering information about a trademark into the Register.
First of all, special attention should be paid to the presence or absence of a foreign entity having a representative office in the Russian Federation before the customs authorities. If there is none, then the application can be submitted by a legal entity or individual with Russian citizenship, residing in Russia and having the right to interact with the Federal Customs Service of Russia on issues related to maintaining the Register and representing its interests. A document confirming the authority of a representative is a power of attorney.
An application from a Russian legal entity acting as the copyright holder of an IP object or its representative shall indicate its location, organizational address and email address, telephone number, as well as information about registration with the tax authority as a taxpayer and TIN.
The application from a Russian individual or his representative shall indicate the last name, first name, patronymic, residential address, contact telephone number, email address and postal address, as well as passport data, TIN or details of another identification document.
If the copyright holder of an IP object is a foreign organization, then the application for inclusion in the Register shall indicate the full and abbreviated name of the organization, address in the country of registration, registration information based on data from the trade register of the country of origin, as well as information about the body that registered this organization indicating the registration number, date and place of registration.
If the copyright holder is a foreign individual, then the application shall indicate the surname, first name, residential address, name and details of his identity document.
All information in applications from foreign copyright holders, including information about their representatives in the Russian Federation authorized by the relevant title documents, is submitted to the Federal Customs Service in a foreign language (in Latin transcription) and Russian.
Inclusion of information about a trademark in the Register requires a preliminary careful and professional approach to collecting the necessary documents.
Thus, in an application for the inclusion of a trademark/service mark, it is important to indicate:
- its name and description, information about documents confirming its registration in accordance with Russian legislation and international treaties of the Russian Federation;
- information on agreements on the alienation of the exclusive right to a trademark/service mark, license (sublicense) agreements and licensees (sublicensees), commercial concession (subconcession) agreements, if any, or on the transfer of the exclusive right to a designation to another person without an agreement;
- information, if available, on granting the right to use a trademark/service mark on other grounds provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation;
- the period during which customs authorities need to protect rights to a trademark. The period is set from the date of its inclusion in the Register, taking into account the validity period of the registration certificate, but not more than three years.
Along with information about applicants and trademarks, it is important to provide information about the distinctive features and characteristics of the goods, their full description and description of individual elements, type of packaging, identification numbers, as well as barcodes of goods marked with this designation. Product codes are indicated in accordance with ICGS classes.
Information about detected cases of violation, if any, and information about persons involved in the circulation of products that have signs of violation of the rights of the copyright holder are indicated, indicating their functional responsibilities (manufacturer, importer/exporter, carrier, consignee). Also in the application it is necessary to note traffic routes, types of transport and transportation features, storage locations, crossing the customs border and customs control.
The application is accompanied by the obligation of the copyright holder to compensate for property damage that may be caused for various reasons to the recipient of the goods or other persons (for example, with the suspension of the release date of the goods). If the applicant is a legal entity, then along with the above documents, copies of the Charter and constituent documents of the copyright holder are submitted, as well as an insurance policy and insurance agreement, which stipulates the insurance of the copyright holder's liability for possible damage to property to the recipient of the goods or other persons with confirmation of payment of the insurance premium.
The period for consideration of an application for inclusion of a trademark in the Register is usually no more than three months.
In conclusion, I would like to add that the protection of IP rights using TROIS is currently becoming the most common among domestic and foreign copyright holders, but requires a careful and highly professional attitude to the selection of the necessary documents to effectively achieve the desired result, and therefore, the involvement of specialists.
