IP News

On June 10, 2011, the Kosovo customs officials and Nike’s legal representatives organized and witnessed a destruction of a significant quantity of goods found to infringe the intellectual property rights of Nike.

The counterfeit goods, including 5,163 pairs of sneakers, 3,804 pairs of socks and 154 track suits, were destroyed by a press cutting machine at the premises of the Rilindja printing and publishing house in the capital of Prishtina. The Kosovo customs officials detained the fake Nike goods in the period March-May 2011 at various Kosovo border crossings.

The goods were destroyed following the fast-track procedure under the Kosovo Law on Customs Measures, which enables the right holders to avoid the lengthy and costly court procedures.

For more information, please contact Nahide Saliaga-Maliqi.

Source: SDP KOSOVE

On April 20, 2011, the Kosovo customs officials organized a destruction of 104 T-shirts and tracksuits found to infringe the intellectual property rights of Nike and Gant.

The goods were cut with scalpel knives at the customs premises in Hani i Elezit, border crossing point with Macedonia, in the presence of the rights holders’ legal representatives. The goods were detained in March 2011 at the same border crossing point.

The goods were destroyed following the fast-track procedure under the Law on Customs Measures, which enables the right holders to avoid the lengthy and costly court procedures.

For more information, please contact Nahide Saliaga-Maliqi at our Kosovo office.

Source: SDP KOSOVE

During the past two months, the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) has been assisting the Kosovo IPO in drafting guidelines for the examination and registration of industrial designs, in line with the EU practice.

The project is funded by the EU, managed by the European Commission Liaison Office in Kosovo and implemented by the European Patent Office.

The Kosovo IPO was established in November 2007 and since then has received a high volume of trademark, patent and industrial design applications.

For more information, please contact Nahide Saliaga-Maliqi.

Source: OHIM

On April 12, 2011, the Kosovo IPO issued its second Official Gazette, listing patent applications, registered patents, registered trademarks, as well as renewed trademarks.

The proprietors of the published patent applications, as per Article 38 of the Law on Patents, have a six-month deadline to file the Request for the grant of a patent. If this request is not filed within the prescribed deadline, the patent application will be deemed withdrawn.

The Official Gazette, the content of which is in Albanian only, can be downloaded in the PDF format on this web page.

For more information, please contact Nahide Saliaga-Maliqi.

Source: Kosovo PTO
 

The first seizure and destruction of counterfeit goods under the provisions for the enforcement of intellectual property rights contained in the Law on Customs Measures, in force as of January 2010, has recently taken place in Kosovo, a jurisdiction where counterfeit goods are rampant.

On February 3, 2011, the Kosovo customs officials organized a destruction of apparel and wristwatches found to infringe the intellectual property rights of Timberland, Gucci and Abercrombie & Fitch. The seizure of these goods took place on November 29, 2010 at the border point with Albania, called Vermnice.

The local importers of counterfeit goods, as well as the representatives of companies authorized by the trademark holders, were present at the destruction.

The destroyed goods included 127 pants, 44 shirts and 79 sweatshirts found to infringe the IP rights of Timberland; 43 wristwatches and 38 jackets found to infringe the IP rights of Gucci; and 27 shirts and 334 sweatshirts found to infringe the IP rights of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Furthermore, in March 2011, the following seizures were reported on behalf of Nike: 3036 pairs of socks, 4080 pairs of shoes and a small quantity of apparel.

The fake Nike goods were detained at different border points in Kosovo, most of them at the Adem Jashari airport in Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo. The counterfeit goods were intended for the Kosovo market.

The customs representatives encourage all companies importing genuine products to file a customs surveillance application with the Kosovo Customs to prevent import of counterfeit goods.

For more information, please contact Kujtesa Nezaj-Shehu.

Source: SDP KOSOVE