Imported and Exported goods infringed IPR; Customs penalized severely; 1 to 3 times of fine be imposed on the confiscated freight.

For the purpose of protecting Intellectual Property Right, the Ministry of Finance drafted Customs Preventive Law, added and revised the stipulations against those imported and exported goods that have infringed Intellectual Property Right. The Customs is entitled to confiscate any imported or exported goods that infringed Intellectual Property Right, and the entrepreneurs are obliged to accept a fine of 1 to 3 times of the price of the goods.

i)       To revise and argument Article 39-1 of Customs Preventive Law: The Ministry of Finance stated that, in order to show forth our determination of defending Intellectual Property Right, authorized the Customs to clamp down on any of the trade action, set explicitly the goods to be imported and exported, and the goods imported and exported by post and carried by passengers, ones that infringed Intellectual Property Right, should be imposed a fine of one to three times of the merchandise’ price, and that the Custom is entitled to confiscated the freight.

ii)     Paragraph 2, Article 37 of the amended law stipulated that: The Ministry of Finance re-enforced that, the purpose of amending the said article is to prevent from unworthy entrepreneurs’ evading the investigations through false reporting and handing in some false identification as such, to import fake/ illegal cars in place of genuine articles. Thus, an increased fine from the current NT$30,000 to NT$1,000,000 shall be imposed on ones who acts illegally so as to stop those things from happening. (2004.05)

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