New Proposal For EU Regulation Concerning Customs Enforcement Of Intellectual Property Rights

On January 10, 2013, the Council of the Europeran Union has published Document 5129/13 titled Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning customs enforcement of intellectual property rights.

This Draft Regulation sets out the conditions and procedures for action by the customs authorities where goods suspected of infringing an intellectual property right are, or should have been, according to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code, subject to customs supervision or customs control within the customs territory of the Union, particularly goods in the following situations:

(a) when declared for release for free circulation, export or re-export in accordance with Articles 79 to 83, 161 to 162 and 182 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92;
(b) when entering or leaving the customs territory of the Union in accordance with Articles 37, 38 and 183 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92;
(c) when placed under a suspensive procedure or in a free zone or free warehouse in accordance with Articles 84, paragraph 1 a), and 166 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92.

The Council of the European Union had requested, in its Resolution of 25 September 2008 on a comprehensive European anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy plan, that Council Regulation (EC) No 1383/2003 of 22 July 2003 concerning customs action against goods suspected of infringing certain intellectual property rights and the measures to be taken against goods found to have infringed such rights, be reviewed. The text now available with Document 5129/13 represents a milestone after some time of secret deliberations; see my earlier postings here, here, and there.

The present text of the Draft Regulation appears not to provide provisions especially aiming at digital goods in general or concerning the Internet. Maybe the EU Member states have learnt their lessons from the ACTA debacle.

(Pictogram: This image is from the AIGA symbol signs collection via Wikimedia Commons.)