Provisional Translation
| OTO No. | 483 | Classification | MOF-85 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Acceptance | June 22, 1992 | Ministry/Agency Receiving Complaint | Economic Planning Agency |
| Responsible Ministries | Ministry of Finance | Related Laws | Customs Tariff Law |
| Complainant | The Japan and America Chamber of Commerce (proxy complaint) | Exporting Countries | |
| Subject | Clarification and simplification of customs clearance procedures for parallel imports | ||
| Details of Measures | When there is doubt as to whether goods for which an import declaration has been made to customs are so-called 'copy' goods that infringe upon trademark rights, the customs office initiates a verification procedure to ascertain whether this is the case. This verification procedure, based on a directive ("Concerning the control of goods infringing on intellectual property rights"), involves sending the appropriate notice to the importer and the rights holder and giving the importer an opportunity to explain, and the rights holder a chance to state his opinion and to conduct an appraisal if necessary. During the process, the customs office, based on each party's explanation or opinion, determines whether the goods in question have been legally manufactured and distributed, through documents attesting to this. If certificates issued by public organizations of the exporting country can be used to ascertain whether the goods have been legally manufactured and distributed, these can be used as reference documents in the customs office's verification procedure. The complainant was advised that accordingly, if the importer can, for each transaction, obtain reliable documents (for example, stocking records issued by the rights holder abroad) certifying that the goods imported are genuine, customs clearance can be speeded up. |
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| Classification of Processing | D | Directions | I-b II-a |
| Remarks | |||