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Due to increasing online trade, more and more counterfeit products are being seized at the borders. Parliament has approved proposals from the Federal Council that would make it easier to destroy such pirated products.
With 41 votes against and 0 abstentions, the Council of States, as the second council, adopted the law on a simplified procedure for the destruction of small shipments under intellectual property law on Tuesday. Today, more than 90 percent of suspect goods are found in small shipments of up to three items.
Nowadays, counterfeit goods can only be destroyed with great effort, even if the cases are small. In most cases, this effort turns out to be unnecessary because those who ordered the goods do not oppose the destruction.
Less administrative hassle
The Federal Office for Customs and Border Protection (BAZF), which has now reached its capacity limits, will benefit from the simplified procedure, Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider said. The Intellectual Property Institute will now be responsible for the simplified and regular procedure.
Intellectual property rights owners should now be able to request that they be informed of the seizure of the suspect goods only if the buyer objects to the destruction. This allows both customs and rights holders to save procedural steps and thus reduce administrative burden. However, the rights holders can also opt for the previous procedure.
To avoid the risk of damage if the destruction subsequently proves to be unjustified, the destruction may not take place earlier than three months after notification of the retained goods. The import of goods that violate intellectual property rights must go unpunished.
According to the Federal Council, the Swiss economy is disproportionately affected by product piracy: Swiss rights holders are the fourth largest company in the world whose intellectual property rights are violated by imitations.
The bill goes back to the National Council with minor changes made by the Council of States. (SDA)
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
