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The application form procedure (Regulations 1383/2003 and 1891/2004), whereby rightholders ask Customs to look out for and detain products which infringe our intellectual property, is an essential element of any anti-counterfeiting strategy. Part of the form is dedicated to rightholders providing information to Customs about our products so as to help them to target fake consignments. However, as it is an annual procedure, many companies do not know how to inform Customs when any new or supplementary intelligence comes to light.

Further to a request from the Commission's Customs department, DG TAXUD, members of the Anti-Counterfeiting Committee worked closely with operational Customs officers to devise two intelligence forms. The first is a "red alert", to be used for passing urgent intelligence: e.g. the rightholder knows that a particular consignment is en route. The second, the "new trends" form, is to alert Customs to new routes of fraud, concealment methods or other new and important developments. The forms are now on DG TAXUD's site, together with a list of national contact points in the Customs Administrations to whom they should be sent and who will ensure the rapid onward transmission of the intelligence to the ports and airports. Both forms can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/customs/customs_controls/counterfeit_piracy/right_holders/index_en.htm

This is of great practical value to rightholders and members are requested to disseminate this information as widely as possible, inside and outside their organisations. Note that there is no legal requirement to complete them; this is a practical tool aimed at improving the real-time flow of intelligence and to help Customs to help us in fighting the counterfeit menace!
detailed information can be obtained with marie.pattullo@aim.be

UEA

Subject: Design Italy

Dear colleagues, please find in annex a short note on the situation of the design protection in Italy. The actual situation in Italy is such that products designed before 2001 and that are or can be protected under copy right in different EU Member States  are not protected in Italy and can be legally copied. This concerns in the first place companies that have the reproduction rights of classical designers such as e.g. Hofmann, Saarinen, Mac Intosh, Corbusier etc., but also companies whose own design from the sixties, seventies eighties or nineties is or could be protected under copy rights in their own country. The design protection regulation starts applying from 2001.
The Commission has declined to start procedures against Italy for this infraction unless there are several countries that will join or request such a procedure. Please examine whether you have manufacturers that are or can be in the situation described and contact your authorities to request the changes as described in the note. Please also keep the secretariat informed if you under take any action in this matter.

Best regards
Bart De Turck
UEA

Vyjádření patentového úřadu…
Co se týče Vámi přeposlané informace o situaci v Itálii, domníváme se, že vysvětlení je následující: Designy chráněne prostřednictvím průmyslového vzoru, jsou i nadále chráněny. Ty, které byly chráněny pouze prostřednictvím tzv. neregistrovaného designu či copyrightu však podle tohoto výkladu chráněny nejsou.