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<font size="-1">how incredibly informative :D<br>
<br>
mark down march 15th in your calendars. it's the chinese
we-destroy-counterfeited-goods-day :D<br>
</font><br>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Subject: </th>
<td>[The IPKat] Lock them up or make they pay?</td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Date: </th>
<td>Fri, 27 May 2011 00:09:33 -0700 (PDT)</td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">From: </th>
<td>Jeremy <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:jjip@btinternet.com"><jjip@btinternet.com></a></td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Reply-To:
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<td><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:jjip@btinternet.com">jjip@btinternet.com</a></td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">To: </th>
<td><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:ipkat_readers@googlegroups.com">ipkat_readers@googlegroups.com</a></td>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_nnnc6_29pk/Td9NDEL0RMI/AAAAAAAASA0/uQmEmSV8VqY/s1600/rabbits.jpg"
imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em;
margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img
moz-do-not-send="true"
src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_nnnc6_29pk/Td9NDEL0RMI/AAAAAAAASA0/uQmEmSV8VqY/s320/rabbits.jpg"
height="210" width="280" border="0"></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What
shall we do with them?<br>
(photo by <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/e_hmm/489030150/">hmmlargeart</a>)</i></td>
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<b>The IPKat put in four 16-hour days </b>at the recent
International Trademark Association Meeting in San Francisco, but
was still unable to cover more than a small amount of the programme.
He is therefore grateful to his friend and fellow blogger <b><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/04296562132231894342">Aurelia
J. Schultz </a></b>for providing him with this note on one of
the Table Topics which she attended:<br>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-family:
'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height:
115%;">"Counterfeit Goods, Civil Liability and Criminal
Punishment</span></b> </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-family:
'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height:
115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;">Lock them up or make them pay? An international
group of lunch munchers explored the various considerations in
this choice at one of this year’s </span><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.inta.org/Pages/Home.aspx"><span
style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"><b>INTA</b></span></a><span
style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"><b> </b>Table
Topics: The Intersection of Criminal Prosecution and Civil
Trademark Enforcement, moderated by </span><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.steptoe.com/professionals-596.html"><span
style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"><b>Michael J.
Allan</b></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;"> of Steptoe & Johnson LLP. In opting for
one or other option, t</span><span style="font-family: 'Times
New Roman',serif;">here are two main questions to ask: What do
you want? How likely are you to get it?</span> </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;"><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;">What do You Want?</span> </i></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-family:
'Times New Roman',serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;">In China, a successful criminal prosecution
will get you the satisfaction of jail time for the defendant
and a guarantee that confiscated counterfeit goods will be
destroyed on 15 March, National Customs Day, when all
confiscated counterfeit goods from across the country are
destroyed. It will not however, get destruction of the
machinery used to produce the counterfeit goods and it will
not get the trademark owner any money. In the US, a
successful criminal prosecution can include money for the
trademark owner in the form of restitution, but the amount is
far less than possible damages in a civil suit.</span> </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;">Occasionally, it may happen that law
enforcement begins a criminal investigation before the
trademark owner brings a civil suit. Things can get a little
tricky when both cases wind up in the court system at the same
time. In the United States, the common procedure is for the
defendant to ask for a stay of the civil proceedings until the
criminal proceedings are complete. Whether the court grants
this stay can greatly affect the procedure of the civil case;
thus the plaintiff needs to decide whether to argue in support
of or against the stay. A stay can make things easier for the
plaintiff in the civil case because the government will do a
large part of the discovery work through its investigation.
Plus, if the defendant is found guilty in the criminal case,
that can be used to show liability in the civil case.
However, not having the stay can also benefit the plaintiff in
the civil case by forcing the defendant to make some tough
decisions. Under the US Constitution’s <b><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution">Fifth Amendment,</a></b>
the defendant has a right not to testify in a criminal
proceeding. But, if he chooses to testify in the civil case,
that right is considered waived. In Latvia, there are no
choices to make; the stay is automatic.</span> </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;"><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;">How Likely are You to Get it?</span> </i></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-family:
'Times New Roman',serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;">One notable consistency across the countries,
if you want criminal enforcement, you’re probably going to
have to do the dirty work yourself. Governments are short on
resources, money, time and personnel. In the United States,
trademark owners who want to close down counterfeit operations
are more likely to get results working with the local law
enforcement and prosecution offices, rather than with any of
the various federal agencies. In China, success is more
likely with engagement of officers at higher government
levels, most notably the Ministry of Public Security. Local
decision makers are often friends with the counterfeiters.</span> </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;">Convincing law enforcement to get involved can
be challenging, even if you’re able to foot the bill.
Generally, you need to show that involvement in your case
benefits the greater public. In the United States, all you
have to do is find some way to persuade law enforcement that
this counterfeit goods operation is linked to terrorism. In
Latvia, the sell is a little more difficult unless the
counterfeit good is physically dangerous; loss of tax revenue
is often the best point. But there are also some places where
the convincing is not as needed. In Latin America, criminal
prosecution is the standard for trademark infringement and
counterfeit goods. Civil cases just take way too long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><br>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New
Roman',serif;">So when do you go for the money, when do you
try for criminal enforcement and when do you have to choose?
Generally, you go for the money when you want money and you go
for criminal enforcement when you are dealing with repeat
counterfeiters and want the whole operation shut down,
provided you can find a willing government partner and do some
funding. [Which brings up a very interesting question about
access to justice, but I’ll leave that for the comments
section…]".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
--<br>
Posted By Jeremy to <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2011/05/lock-them-up-or-make-they-pay.html">The
IPKat</a> on 5/27/2011 08:09:00 AM
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