The Jordanian Customs (JC) has recently announced that it will only notify the parties that have recorded their validly registered trademarks with the JC of the incidents of suspected goods that have been withheld at the country’s border points.
The JC currently maintains a trademark recordation system for marks registered at the Jordanian Trademark Office. Therefore, pursuant to the above JC decision, parties who register their marks at the Trademark Office are now recommended to record these marks with the JC as well in order to assist the Department in its efforts to prohibit the importation of counterfeit articles. The recordation database maintained at the JC will include the particulars of the recorded marks along with their images. This will help the Customs officials target, intercept, and confiscate shipments of goods bearing infringing marks.
Trademarks registered on the Principal Register of the Trademark Office are eligible to be recorded with the JC. The owner of a trademark registration or his legal representative must apply to the JC requesting recordation. The application should include information required by the applicable regulations. The application must be accompanied by a copy of the certificate of registration and a copy of the power of attorney. The JC will then issue a recordation notice and will send a related circular to all Customs borders. The recordation of a trademark remains in force concurrently with the term of the registration. If the trademark registration is cancelled or revoked, the recordation with the JC is also cancelled. A trademark recordation can be renewed upon renewal of the registration at the Trademark Office.
The above comes as part of the JC’s continuous efforts to maintain an aggressive Intellectual Property Rights enforcement program. This enforcement is accomplished through the cooperative efforts of trained enforcement officers, other government agencies, the trade community, as well as a competent legislative system (Customs Law no. 16/2000 amending Customs Law no. 20/1998 and Resolution no. 7/2000 regarding the Border Procedure Instructions).
More specifically, according to Article no. 41 of Law no. 16/2000 amending Law no. 20/1998, foreign goods which do not conform with the requirements of the laws and the regulations for the protection of intellectual property shall be denied entry into the country, unless otherwise approved by the competent authorities. The main border measures provided by Article no. 41 are summarized below:
– The Customs authorities can suspend entry into Jordan of alleged counterfeit products bearing identical or similar trademarks at the request of the owner of a registered trademark for a period of eight days.
– Legal proceedings should be initiated by the trademark owner within the eight-day period; otherwise, the goods will be released.
– The trademark owner shall be allowed to inspect the confiscated goods under the JC’s supervision.
– Customs authorities are also entitled to suspend ex-officio products which are suspected to be counterfeit and to inform immediately the trademark owner and the importer.
– Small quantities of goods of non-commercial nature and personal items and gifts contained in travelers personal luggage or sent in small consignments, as well as goods in transit and goods which are placed in the markets of the exporting country by the rights’ holder or upon permission thereof, shall be excluded from the provisions of Article 41.
As a bottom line, it is worth noting that the recordation system at the JC in not only limited to trademarks but extends to other types of intellectual property So should you wish to take advantage of this recordation system or should you have any further enquiries regarding the subject matter, please contact us at recordation@sabaip.com