Counterfeit products (IPR products) and intellectual property rights

Customs controls that goods entering, exiting and being transited through the country are not counterfeit goods or other products infringing on intellectual property rights or copyrights (IPR). The controls aim to protect citizens and society from products that are harmful to health and safety, and to protect society’s tax revenues and the economic interests of the right holder. The controls are based on a Regulation of the European Parliament and Council concerning customs enforcement of intellectual property rights.

The regulation defines, which procedures the customs authority must follow if it during a customs control or an inspection discovers goods, which are suspected of violating intellectual property rights or infringing on copyrights, especially regarding goods that are

  • declared for release for free circulation, export or re-export.
  • entering or leaving the customs territory of the Union;
  • placed under a suspensive procedure, in a free zone or free warehouse.

Right holder: submit an application for action (AFA) to Customs

Customs mainly controls goods for which the right holder has left an application to Customs for operation in accordance with regulation (Application for Action (AFA)). The application is generally valid for one year, after which it can be renewed.

Customs can also, ex officio, stop products without an operation application.

An application for action is an application of a standard format intended for right holders or their representatives to provide Customs with information on their intellectual property rights for enforcement measures (Regulation (EU) 608/2013). The application can be valid in one or several Member States.

You can submit the application for action free of charge.

Submit the application electronically to Customs through the IP Enforcement Portal (IPEP). For guidance on submitting an application and on the functioning of IPEP, please contact the EUIPO’s IPEP Team: ipenforcementportal@euipo.europa.eu

Print out the application form submitted through IPEP, sign it and send it to Customs by email, without attachments, to the address eAFA@tulli.fi

Application extension requests should be submitted to Customs 30 working days before the end of the validity of the application.

In the case of changes to a valid application, there is no need to send a signed application form – it is sufficient to send the details by email to the address eAFA@tulli.fi.

Changes to the processing of applications for action related to IPR enforcement – electronic applications are mandatory as of 3 October 2024

Applications for action (AFAs) in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 must be submitted electronically to Finnish Customs through the IP Enforcement Portal (IPEP) developed by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Representatives and right holders have been able to use IPEP since December 2021. The use of electronic AFAs (eAFAs) is mandatory as of 3 October 2024.

More information:

Other things to note

  • Trademark is a sign that distinguishes the goods and services manufactured or produced by a company similar goods and services of other companies.
  • Design right protects the appearance of the goods or part thereof. The object of the protection is always a concrete item or part thereof and is always perceived visually.
  • Patent is an exclusive right granted to the inventor for using the invention for professional purposes.
  • Pirated copy is a product involving an unlicensed copy of someone else’s copyrighted product.
  • Counterfeit product is a product involving the unlicensed incorporation of a trademark belonging to another party or a copy of such a trademark, or a product that illicitly simulates the appearance of another product which is protected under design right.
  • Infringing product: A product may infringe on intellectual property rights without being a counterfeit product.

Regulation (EU) No 2015/2424 of the European Parliament and the Council, which came into force 23 March 2016, enables the supervision of trademark infringements in transit. Because of this regulation, customs authorities in the Member States have more opportunities to supervise IPR consignments in transit.

Products under transit, which infringe on a trademark of the European Union, can be stopped based on EU Regulation 608/2013, if the trademark is also protected in the country of destination. Therefore, references to the readmitting of the consignment into the EU territory is no longer necessary. However, it should be noted that this does not include design or patent infringements.

On 12 June 2013, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted a Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 related to IPR enforcement by Customs. The Regulation took effect on 1 January 2014. This regulation provides the customs authority with the possibility to destroy goods detained by Customs in necessary situations.

The legislation in force before 1 January 2014, does not allow Customs to destroy detained goods without a court decision on an infringement of intellectual property rights. Therefore, the following steps are taken:

  • Customs gives the holder of the goods the possibility to declare the batch.
  • If the holder of the goods registers to declare the batch, as a rule, it should be released, if there is now legal obstacle to the release.
  • If the holder of the goods does not register to declare the batch, or if Customs cannot reach the holder of the goods, a notice of availability is published for the batch. The notice is published on the official bulletin board of the authority and in the Official Journal (Administrative Procedure Act of Finland, section 62).
  • If the notice of availability reaches the holder of the goods, it is his or her duty to declare the batch. The goods must be released to the holder of the goods, if there is no legal obstacle to the release.
  • If the holder of the goods does not register within the time limit in the notice, then Articles 53 and 75 of the UCC as well as section 35 of the Customs Act are implemented.

More information: Senior Customs Officer Riikka Pakkanen Enforcement Department, Traffic and Goods Control Unit, Tel: 040 33 26213, riikka.pakkanen@tulli.fi

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