The Law on the Protection of Geographical Indications by Customs Authorities was published

On December 5, signed by the President of the Russian Federation and published Federal Law No. 488-FZ dated December 5, 2022 “On Amending Articles 327 and 334 of the Federal Law “On Customs Regulation in the Russian Federation and on Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”.

The law was developed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation on the initiative of industry business and is aimed at improving measures to protect the rights of participants in foreign economic activity to intellectual property.

The norms of the adopted Law provide for the right holders to submit a request for the inclusion of geographical indications in the customs register of intellectual property objects and the duty of customs authorities to protect the rights of such owners when moving goods across the customs border.

Prior to the adoption of the Law, this right was only for the owners of objects of copyright and related rights, trademarks (service marks) and appellations of origin.

By including his object in the customs register, the right holder has the right to control its movement across the customs border. In the case of customs operations with such goods, the person moving it must present to the customs authority the permission of the right holder (representative) for operations with his goods. And if the customs authority detects signs of a violation of the rights of the right holder, the period for the release of such goods is suspended, and in the future, based on the application of the right holder (representative), the customs authority may initiate the protection of the right holders within the framework of administrative proceedings.

The law enters into force 90 days after its official publication.