New changes in the recording systems in Thailand’s customs border

To allow the agents in customs borders across the country to check, monitor, and stop the illegal goods that infringed upon the rights of rights owners, rights owners need to contact the agents and record the information of their IP assets to the customs recording system. Recently, there is an update on the recording system of Thailand that right owners need to know to best protect their rights.

The Thailand Customs Department has updated the customs recordation system as well as the customs processes for the seizure of counterfeit and pirated goods. The Government Gazette published the Customs Notification on the Export, Import, and Transit of Trademark and Copyright Infringing Goods on August 4, 2022. The validity of the changes started from July 29, 2022.

Both trademark and copyright owners can now directly record their intellectual property information with the Customs Department, as opposed to the previous requirement that trademark owners seeking customs recordation record the relevant information with the Department of Intellectual Property, then the information will be transferred to the customs.

This procedure is somewhat troublesome as the speed of the processing of information of the DIP can’t meet the requirements of every brand owner. With the new change, brand owners may divide the process and contact the borders agency first, updating the information and securing their rights, avoid the months of delay in contact between the agencies.

On the other hand, the benefits may also come from the other side as normally, the customs, even with the information, can only delay the shipment for a set period of time, to avoid economic consequences and the interest of the importing-exporting parties. During that period, the DIP contacts the brand owners for verification but the contact meets an end, the rights owners don’t respond or respond incompletely.

From now, with the more effective system, the Customs agency will have more updated and precise information to make the decision to apprehend or release the shipping party, saving time for both sides as well as the rights and interests of all parties involved.

The changes in the new update

The changes in the new update may be listed as follows:

– Customs Recordation is submitted directly to the Customs Department. The DIP is no longer required to act as a middleman between the rights owner and the Customs Department in order to send the Customs Recordation application.

– Defined time frames for each process. The previous regulation imposed no precise time limitations, hence it lacked clarity in this regard.

– Reduce the obligations of the rights owner. The rights owner is not required to file a letter verifying that the products are infringing if the exporter/importer/transit person (or agent) admits that the items are infringing or if they are unable to be contacted within three days.

– The validity period. Customs recording is now valid for three years and can be renewed. Under the former method, Customs Recordation was valid indefinitely as long as the trademark remained valid. Although the formal procedure saves time and effort but it is ineffective as the information might be changed, supplemented, or edited in time and therefore, third parties might use this to pass through the customs border.

– Legal responsibility. The rights owners are liable for any harm caused by actions taken in good faith by Customs officers conducting an examination of the goods based on information supplied by the rights owner in the application or from an inspection request. This rule is provided to avoid the abuse of the recordal system as well as to protect the rights of the shipping party.

*** Other Articles***

– You could visit here to see Procedure of Thailand Trademark Registration.

– You could visit here to check the required documents for filing trademark in Thailand here.

– You could read 06 Frequent Questions About Filing Trademark In Thailand here.

– You could visit here to see Power of Attorney of trademark in Thailand here.

– You could read 07 Legal Notes To Thailand Trademark Law You Need To Know here

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