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Since the 1st of September, 2011 within the frameworks of the Customs Union between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belorussia the customs clearance at the boundaries between these states had been abolished that resulted in free flow of goods within the Union.
Two registers of intellectual property objects are specified in Chapter 46 of the Customs Code of the Union that is called “Features of Customs Operations in regard to Goods containing Intellectual Property Objects”:
- - national register that is kept in the customs authority of the state being a member of the Customs Union.
- - Uniform Customs Register for all countries being members of the Customs Union.
Today the Uniform Register of Intellectual Property Objects is provided for only by reference rules of the Customs Code of the Customs Union. The Agreement provides for that the objects of copyrights, adjacent rights, trade marks and service marks can be included in the Uniform Register.
It has not still been determined in what way the same objects of intellectual property, for example, trade marks, rights to which belong to different persons in the countries of the Union, will be included in the Uniform Customs Register of Intellectual Property Objects.
Transfer since the 1st of July, 2011 of all types of the customs check from the Russian - Kazakhstan and Russian-Belorussian boundaries to the external boundary of the Customs Union without the Uniform Customs Register available and without harmonization of legal norms of responsibility for violation of intellectual rights will inevitably lead to attempts of unlawful import of infringing products.
Using the possibility of good import through the boundaries of Kazakhstan and Belorussia, within the territory of which there is no registration of Russian trade marks, unfair businessmen can easily go around obstacles in the form of the Customs Register of the Russian Federation for Intellectual Property.
The Republic of Belorussia borders with the Russian Federation in the north and in the east, the extent of the boundaries is 990 km, with the Ukraine in the south, 975 km, with Poland in the west, 399 km, with Lithuania in the north-west, 462 km and Latvia, 143 km.
The extent of the boundaries between Kazakhstan and Russia is 6,467 km, with China – 1,460 km, with Kyrgyzstan - 980 km, Uzbekistan – 2,300 km, and Turkmenistan 380 km. Goods are also imported to Kazakhstan through the Caspian Sea from Azerbaijan and Iran.
Due to cancellation of customs registration of cargoes at the boundaries of Russia – Kazakhstan and Russia – Belorussia, entry of data about trade marks into the Customs Register of the Russian Federation will not be able to provide protection of the owner from import of infringing products to the territory of the Russian Federation.
It is obvious that influx of products marked with adjacent trade marks can lead to negative consequences for Russian businessmen.
We see two variants in an arisen situation: to wait for interstate settlement and reduction of things to order “from above” or act by ourselves and “close” the boundaries of Kazakhstan and Belorussia for infringing goods entering the data about own trade marks into the customs registers of the applicable countries. As they say there is always a choice.
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