Tons of rice were stopped at Ukrainian customs on suspicion of infringement of the intellectual property rights of a foreign manufacturer (non-resident).
As we reported earlier, at the request of the foreign rice producer, our lawyers filed information about the trademark (TM) owned by the producer into the Customs Register of Intellectual Property Rights.
After some time, the customs authorities notified us that goods (rice) had been submitted for customs clearance with signs of infringement of our client’s intellectual property rights, as a result of which customs clearance of the goods was suspended. In particular, the rice packaging contained an image similar to our client’s registered trademark.
On the day the notification was received, our lawyers filed a motion with the customs authorities to extend the suspension period of the customs clearance of the rice, and also applied to the commercial court for interim relief (security for the claim) prior to filing the statement of claim. The next day, the court order was issued, and based on this order the customs authorities suspended the customs clearance of the shipment.
As a result, the goods remained at customs until the issue of whether the intellectual property rights of the rights holder (our client) had been infringed was resolved.
Follow the next chapter of this story to learn how it develops…