Rada passes at second reading bill No. 1230 with amendments to Customs Code on protection of intellectual property rights
Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada has passed at second reading bill No. 1230 with amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine on the protection of intellectual property rights when moving goods across the customs border of Ukraine, which should protect intellectual property rights holders from imports of counterfeit products and streamlines intellectual property provisions in Ukraine's customs legislation in line with EU standards.
An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that a total of 271 MPs backed the document.
According to the author of the bill, the head of the committee on finance, tax and customs policy, Danylo Hetmantsev, the main debate during the discussion of the bill at a meeting of the committee made it advisable to introduce rules on parallel imports.
"Should customs stop the original, non-counterfeit goods that our business entity purchased on the Polish market? We are convinced: no it shouldn't. Those who hold the rights can go to court and clear up the relations with the person who delivers this product," Hetmantsev said during the discussion of the bill in parliament.
"The main criticism is that bill No. 1230 does not regulate… the issue of parallel imports. But it shouldn't regulate it. Is legal regulation of parallel imports and exhaustion of rights necessary? Yes, but not in the Customs Code," Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture, Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka said, commenting on the bill.
Earlier, the European Business Association (EBA) criticized the bill regarding the need to prove the violation of the rights of the trademark owner in the country of production in order to identify the goods as counterfeit. As the EBA experts said, the procedure for going to court to prove a violation is too complicated and lengthy, and during this time the product with signs of a counterfeit product will be sold.