IPR Training with Nhava Sheva Customs (Mumbai Zone II) on August 1, 2018
In India, the Custom authorities have played and continue to play a crucial role in anti-counterfeiting and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights. The port of Nhava Sheva which comes under Mumbai Customs– Zone 2, is the largest container port in India and accounts for approximately 40 percent of the nation’s overall containerized oceanic trade. In the recent years, Nhava Sheva has witnessed an increased load of imported shipments and consequent increase in the number of seizures of counterfeit goods triggered by the various intelligence agencies within the Customs formations – particularly by the Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (SIIB), Central Intelligence Unit (CIU), Marine & Preventive (M&P) as well as the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
United IPR organized a training session with Nhava Sheva Customs aimed at recognition to the Nhava Sheva Custom Officials for their relentless support in enforcement of IP Rights and to equip them with enhanced key tools which are pivotal to curbing the influx of counterfeits into the Indian territory, by sharing specific inputs and intelligence on identification of products and of suspicious consignments.
The training was held at The Regenza by Tunga, Mumbai on 1st August 2018 and was attended by approximately 45 officers from various field formations including the SIIB, Import & Export Docks, Audit Commissioneate, CIU, Chief Commissioner’s Office, etc. The participating right-holders included L’Oreal, Coty, Ray-Ban, P&G, Canon, Polo Ralph Lauren, Limited Brands, Burberry, Bvlgari, Lacoste, Stihl, VF Corporation (Lee & Wrangler), Crocs, WD-40, LVMH Watches Brands (Tag Heuer, Zenith & Hublot) and Monster Energy.
Customs officials attended the training enthusiastically participated and shared constructive feedback on the various guidelines and mechanisms shared by the right-holders. The right-holders as also the Custom Officials acknowledge that this is a prime step and an ideal platform for interaction between the public and private players to share their experiences, exchange best practices and better inter-agency coordination with respect to enforcement of IPRs.