U.s. Customs Service Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights
| Publication year | 1993 |
| Pages | 519 |
| Citation | Vol. 22 No. 3 Pg. 519 |
1993, March, Pg. 519. U.S. Customs Service Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights
The U.S. economy will likely undergo great changes in the next decade because of increasing trade between nations. The realignment of Eastern Europe, the rise of the European Economic Community and the continued competition from Pacific Rim countries provide concrete examples that new markets will continue to develop. The United States will avoid economic hardship only if it can compete in these new markets. A key factor in maintaining international competitiveness is protection of intellectual property rights.
The U.S. Customs Service ("Customs") can be a cost-effective and efficient method of enforcing the protection of such rights. Under various federal statutes,(fn1) Customs is empowered to exclude infringing articles from entering or being sold in the United States. The significance of a Customs action is that infringing articles are prevented from entering the stream of commerce, which prevents most damage from ever occurring.
This article discusses how the Customs Service can be used to protect intellectual property rights.
Although Colorado towns and cities are not known as important ports, there are still substantial quantities of foreign goods that reach the state. Many Colorado businesses with federally registered copyrights and trademarks require protection from potential foreign infringers.
Growth of the Denver metropolitan area coupled with recent U.S. trade agreements with Mexico and Canada make it likely that more foreign goods will find their way to Colorado. Stapleton International Airport provides a conduit by which these goods reach Colorado. At present, the Customs operation at Stapleton conducts more than 300 surveys a month to prevent infringing and other illegal articles from entering commerce. Each month, numerous articles are detained because they are suspected infringements.
It is anticipated that the opening of the new Denver International Airport will result in an increase of foreign goods reaching Colorado. Customs will react to whatever needs arise with the opening of the new airport.
The first step in using Customs as a vehicle for enforcement is to record the property right with Customs. The Code of Federal Regulations fully explains the recordation procedure.(fn2) Copyrights eligible for recordation include those registered under the Copyright Act of 1947, as amended, or the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended.(fn3) Eligible trademarks are those that are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and are currently listed on the Federal Principal Register. Eligible trade names include those that have been used for at least six months to identify a manufacturer or trader. Words or designs used as trademarks will not be accepted for recordation as trade names.
Copyright recordation requires filing a letter with the Intellectual Property Rights Branch of Customs, explaining what property right is to be protected and accompanied by the appropriate fees and proof of property ownership.(fn4) The recordation fee for each copyright is $190, which covers an enforcement period of the lesser of twenty years or until copyright expiration. For copyrights not expiring within twenty years, a copyright renewal fee of $80 will extend protection for another twenty years. There is no limit to the number of times recordation may be renewed.
In addition to the general information needed for filing, a certificate of copyright registration and five photographic or other likenesses of the copyrighted article must be submitted. The preferred submission is five physical embodiments of the work, if the work is of a reasonable size. For copyright works that are easily identifiable by author and title, such as a book or sound recording, submission of likenesses is not required.
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