Industrial Property Law

The Regulation of 12 June 2013 and the Law of 11 March 2014 introduced a procedure for destroying goods under customs detention (Art. L. 521-17-1 IP Code). Once the detention has been effected, the goods may be destroyed under the supervision of customs officers provided that, within ten working days from notification of the detention, or three days in the case of perishable goods, the applicant h …

Destruction of goods

The Regulation of 12 June 2013 and the Law of 11 March 2014 introduced a procedure for destroying goods under customs detention (Art. L. 521-17-1 IP Code). Once the detention has been effected, the goods may be destroyed under the supervision of customs officers provided that, within ten working days from notification of the detention, or three days in the case of perishable goods, the applicant has confirmed in writing and by means of a detailed expert report the infringing nature of the goods and his or her consent to their destruction under his or her responsibility, and that the holder of the goods consents to such destruction (Art. L. 521-17-1, I IP Code). In the absence of express consent or opposition to destruction from the holder of the goods, the latter is deemed to approve it (Art. L. 521-17-1, II IP Code).

When the holder of the goods has not confirmed in writing that he/she consents to the destruction, and is not deemed to have given his/her consent, the customs authorities inform the applicant, who must, within a time-limit of ten working days (or three days in the case of perishable goods) from the date of detention, initiate one of the contentious procedures referred to in paragraph 4 of Article L. 521-14 of the Intellectual Property Code. If the conditions for destruction are not satisfied, and if the applicant has not provided proof to the customs authorities that legal proceedings have been initiated, the detention order is automatically lifted (Art. L. 521-17-1, III IP Code).

Goods that constitute small consignments may be destroyed under the supervision of customs officers where the applicant has, in his application, requested recourse to this procedure (Art. L. 521-17-2, I IP Code). Small consignments correspond to a postal or express consignment that contains three units or less or has a gross weight of less than two kilograms (Reg. No 608/2013, Art. 2, point 19), excluding perishable goods. When notifying the applicant and the holder of the goods that they are subject to detention, the customs authorities state whether or not they intend to destroy the goods. The holder of the goods has ten working days from notification of the detention to make his or her observations known to the customs authorities. If, within this time-limit, the holder of the goods confirms his consent to destruction or remains silent, the goods may be destroyed. At the applicant's request, the customs authorities provide information on the actual or estimated quantity and nature of the goods destroyed (Art. L. 521-17-2, II IP Code).

When the declarant or holder of the goods has not confirmed in writing that he consents to their destruction, or when he is not deemed to have consented to their destruction, the customs administration immediately informs the applicant and provides him with the quantity, nature and pictures of the goods (Art. L. 521-17-2, III IP Code). The detention order is automatically lifted if the applicant does not justify to the customs administration, within a time-limit of ten working days from this information, that he has initiated the measures specified in the fourth paragraph of Article L. 521-14 of the Intellectual Property Code (Art. L. 521-17-2, IV IP Code).

Industrial Property Law

527. Destruction of goods

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Les notions juridiques connexes

527. Destruction of goods

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Les notions juridiques connexes

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