FICCI seeks amendment in Form 27 & patent law to facilitate commercialisation of patented product & ease of doing business
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has urged the patent office to amend Form 27 and update Patent Rules in line with international best practices so as to befit emerging technological fields, make commercialization of patented invention more easier and facilitate ease of doing business.
Form 27 needs to be submitted by patentees under Section 146 (2) of The Patents Act, 1970 providing details of commercial working of a patent in India.
Said Dipankar Barkakati, additional director and head – IPR & FICCI CASCADE at FICCI, “Existing Form 27 requirement has become redundant, burdensome, hampers ease of doing business, makes commercialization of patented invention more difficult and is not aligned to international best practices. There is thus an urgent need to remove Section 146 (working statement requirement from statute book). While, such a change in the law may take some time, meanwhile, may we request patent office to consider updating the Patent Rules and amend ‘Form 27’ befitting the emerging technological fields.”
http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=108375&sid=1
Lear More
Woman jailed for smuggling 3m illicit cigarettes into UK
A London woman who smuggled three million illicit cigarettes into the UK using false identities has been jailed after an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Xiou Yu Lin, 50, set up mailbox accounts in false names to receive packages, mainly from the Far East.
The parcels – from China, Hong Kong, Japan, India and the US – were wrongly declared as containing items such as ‘kids toys’ and ‘machinery parts’ to get through Customs and evade £904,865.73 in duty.
Southwark Crown Court heard Lin was involved in the scam between July 2011 and November 2016, illegally importing 3.2m cigarettes and 662.7kg of tobacco.
HMRC investigators caught Lin in Camden Town in November 2016 after she had picked up 6,000 Marlboro Gold cigarettes.
Lin, who admitted smuggling cigarettes and tobacco and several counts of using false documents, was sentenced to three years and four months in jail.
Lear MoreLeading global players join FICCI CASCADE in addressing the global threat of illicit trade
Leading international institutions like World Customs Organization (WCO), INTERPOL, United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Organization for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD) and US Homeland Security will represent at FICCI CASCADE’s [Committee against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Destroying the Economy] 4th edition of its flagship annual international event titled under the title: MASCRADE 2017–Movement Against Smuggling and Counterfeit Trade scheduled on 12- 13 October 2017 in New Delhi. This year, the theme of the conference is ‘Protect Your Brand Globally: Fight Counterfeiting, Smuggling and Piracy’.
The market for contraband, smuggled and counterfeit goods is thriving in India and is today one of the biggest challenges faced by Indian industry. India today has the potential to become a global manufacturing hub. However, widespread smuggling, counterfeiting and piracy, can act as a dampener in achieving this goal.
Lear More
Lorry driver caught smuggling cigarettes jailed
A lorry driver caught smuggling eight million cigarettes into the UK has been jailed for two and half years. 40 year old Artur Staniszczak tried to evade more than £2 million in excise duty and was arrested in Dover Eastern Docks in July.
The arrest came after a search of the lorry he was driving revealed 7.9 million Richmond Blue branded cigarettes, instead of the 33 pallets of paper goods shown on the import documents.
Staniszczak pleaded guilty to evading excise duty at Maidstone Crown Court on 15th August 2017.
He was immediately jailed for two and a half years, of which 15 months must be served in custody.
Upon sentencing, His Honour Judge Carey, said: “You acted out of character by doing something criminal. Your role, in my judgement, was clearly a significant role.”
http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2017-08-17/lorry-driver-caught-smuggling-cigarettes-jailed/
Lear MorePolice bust foreign cigarette smuggling racket
The Hyderabad Police busted illegal smuggling of foreign cigarettes in the country, on learning that the cigarettes were being smuggled into the city through trains.
According to officials of the Commissioner’s Task Force, cigarettes from Bangladesh are entering the country and being transported across India through the railway network. On Monday, officials who were tipped off about one such consignment arriving at Nampally Railway station, arrested a man who was operating out of Begum Bazar. The accused, Ajaz Ali Raza, was at the railway station to receive the consignment worth over ₹ 19 lakh.
Upon interrogation, the man revealed that the consignment had arrived from New Delhi but was originally sourced from Bangladesh. After it reaches the city, Raza would distribute the cigarettes to various outlets for sale. “These cigarettes were being imported without paying customs duty and thus were causing a loss to the government. That apart, they do not carry pictorial warnings about the ill- effects of cigarettes on health,” a police official informed.
Lear More
More than 1,000 containers of illicit alcohol seized at border
More than 1,000 containers of illicit alcohol have been seized at the Texas-Mexico border so far in the 2017 fiscal year.
This includes bottles that were not properly labeled, contained dangerous additives or were carried in improper containers that made the liquid unsafe for consumption.
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officials have said that this is a common problem among travelers crossing into Texas from Mexico. Tax Compliance Officers from TABC’s Ports of Entry Division have spoken out about the dangers of this type of smuggling.
“It’s not uncommon for our TCOs to identify alcohol in unmarked containers, such as a gasoline container or water bottle,” TABC Ports of Entry chief John Reney said in a prepared statement. “These products, if allowed to enter Texas, could prove dangerous to consumers. For that reason, we seize the products and destroy them before they can enter the marketplace.”
Lear More
Customs seizes over 30,000 counterfeit toys arriving at port in Charleston
Over $120,000 of counterfeit toys were taken by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents as they arrived at Charleston port, WTOC reports.
Trademarks belonging to Saban Brands, which holds the rights to Power Rangers, and Danjaq, which owns the copyright on “James Bond 007” were found as part of the shipment, as were trademarks for Apple Inc. and Cartoon Network, according to WTOC.
The shipment’s origin was China, and WTOC reports that it arrived in late June headed for an importer in North Carolina, according to Rob Brisley, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security.
WTOC reported that in addition to the financial impact to rights holders, counterfeit products pose safety concerns because their manufacturers have no reason to adhere to safety guidelines when it comes to production or materials according to Robert Fencel, director of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency’s Charleston Area Port.
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/state/south-carolina/article164363777.html
Lear MoreAirman, former airman, arrested in Australia smuggling ring
A U.S. airman and a former airman were arrested June 28 for their alleged involvement in an international smuggling ring, local Australian news sources reported this week.
Staff Sgt. Christopher Paul and former SrA Jarvis Cobb “were arrested by Australian authorities on charges related to the importation of tobacco products with intent to defraud revenue,” U.S. Pacific Air Forces confirmed in a statement sent to Air Force Times. Paul was assigned to the Air Postal Squadron, Detachment 4, in Sydney, and Cobb was with the U.S. Military Post Office in Sydney before leaving the service, according to Air Force records. PACAF said Paul has already pleaded guilty to a charge of importing ‘tobacco products with intent to defraud revenue.’
Lear More
Three South Asians arrested for selling fake luxury products
Police arrested three South Asian men for allegedly selling fake luxury products to foreign tourists in Tsim Sha Tsui. Initial police investigation showed that the suspects have been living in Hong Kong for the past two to five years after seeking asylum by claiming they were torture victims in their countries of origin, news website hk01.com reports.
Those arrested include two Bangladeshis and one Indian national, aged between 27 and 38.
The operation was launched by the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau of the Customs and Excise Department following reports that some gang members of South Asian origin were harassing foreign tourists and coaxing them into flats in Chungking Mansions, Tsim Sha Tsui Mansion and Mirador Mansion to buy fake luxury products.
http://www.ejinsight.com/20160506-3-south-asians-arrested-for-selling-fake-luxury-products/
Lear More9 arrested for smuggling meat with fake kosher symbols from the PA
Police forces arrested on Monday nine suspects who imported meat from South America that was meant to be transported to the PA, but instead ended up in Israel. According to the allegations, a network of Israeli and Palestinian Arab smugglers fraudulently brought the meat from the PA into Israel. The meat was reportedly marked with counterfeit kosher symbols.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/356017#.VwYFWZx97IU
Lear More