EPLAW Patent Blog

NL - Dutch Court stays proceedings in transit cases until the Court of Justice decides on manufacturing fiction

Cybergun S.A. v. Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. and Wargaim LLC, manufacturing fiction, The Hague District Court, The Netherlands, 20 January 2010, Docket No. 330510 / HA ZA 09-528

If - in cases where transshipped goods are blocked by customs - the legitimacy of the application of the manufacturing fiction is contested, the The Hague District Court will stay the proceedings until the decision of the Court of Justice in the cases C-495/09 (Nokia) and C-446/09 (Philips). Blocked goods will not be released, as the court indicates that – pending the proceedings before the Court of Justice – it will follow its earlier case-law with respect to the application of the manufacturing fiction.

Read the judgment (in Dutch) here.

UK - Nokia v. HMRC / Manufacturing Fiction - Question referred

Nokia Corporation v. Her Majesty's Commissioners of Revenue & Customs and the International Trade Mark Association (as proposed intervener), Manufacturing Fiction / Referral to the Court of Justice, Court of Appeal England and Wales, London, UK, 9 November 2009, with thanks to Frank Eijsvogels, Howrey

The court of Appeal asks the following question:

"Are non-Community goods bearing a Community trade mark which are subject to customs supervision in a Member State and in transit from a non-Member State another non-Member State capable of constituting "counterfeit goods" within the meaning of Article 2(1)(a) of Regulation 1383/2003/EC of there is no evidence to suggest that those goods will be put on the market in the EC, either in conformity with a customs procedure or by means of an illicit diversion."

Read the order (in English) here.
Read the order (in Dutch) here.

Read a previous post on EPLAW Patent Blog here.

ECJ to Decide on Manufacturing Fiction

ECJ to Decide on 'Manufacturing Fiction' under Counterfeit Goods Regulation

By Geert Theuws, Howrey LLP

"Following questions posed by the Belgian and to be posed by the UK court, the ECJ will be deciding on an issue which is of significant importance for the future of the European border seizures practice. It concerns the legitimacy of the application of the so-called manufacturing fiction, when ascertaining whether goods seized by customs agencies pursuant to the Counterfeit Goods Regulation infringe upon an IP right."

Read the complete contribution here.

Read the judgment Philips v. Furness (The Hague District Court) (in English) here.

Read the judgment Philips v. Postech (Dutch Supreme Court) (in English) here.

Read the judgment Sosecal v. Sisvel (The Hague District Court) (in English) here.
Read the judgment Philips v. Lucheng c.s. (Antwerp District Court) (in Dutch) here.