Counterfeiting & border control

The owner of a trademark registration in Norway will mainly encounter problems related to counterfeiting when the copies are imported, sold and distributed in Norway.

Through a preliminary injunction from the court of first instance, the Customs receive an injunction to stop counterfeit goods that are being imported to Norway. A preliminary injunction can include several trademarks and is normally issued for a year at a time, with the possibility of renewal.

Norway has a different set of rules than the EU when it comes to customs surveillance and border control, and there is currently less risk involved in importing large quantities of counterfeited goods to Norway than to most EU member countries. This has made Norway a country of transit for counterfeited products which are to be sold in the European Union as the border control between Norway and the EU country of Sweden traditionally is not very extensive in relation to fake goods. A preliminary injunction which ensures customs surveillance would prevent this to a much larger extent.

The sale of counterfeit goods occurs both in stores and through individuals throughout the country and can be stopped by a petition for the police to prosecute or by a civil action. We have many years of experience with organizing customs surveillance and prevention of the sale of counterfeit products.

We are actively involved in improving measures against counterfeit goods in Norway through being represented on the board of the recently founded Norwegian Anti-Counterfeit Group (NACG).