Trademark’s Customs Recordal is Now Applicable in Sudan

KHARTOUM – Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP) would like to inform its clients that the recordal for trademarks is now applicable at the Directorate General of Customs in Sudan.

In accordance with Article 22 of the Regulation of Procedure of the Customs Borders Measures for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, the rights owner may deposit with the Customs Directorate the documents proving his/her ownership of the said rights in order to protect them at the Customs stations for fee to be specified by the financial regulations, however well-known trademarks will be automatically protected.

The Customs Directorate will prepare a register with serial numbers of the applications including the addresses of the owners of the IP rights and their legal representatives and issue a circular of the registered applications to all customs stations.

Moreover, if the IPRs owner has sufficient evidence of the process of importing goods that constitute an infringement to his/her own rights, the owner may submit an application to the Customs Directorate for suspension of Customs clearance procedure, enclosing the following documents:

1- A copy of the registration certificate approved by the concerned authorities.

2- A copy of the Power of Attorney if the applicant is recipient agent.

3- An illustrative picture of the counterfeit good/s.

4- An illustrative picture of the original product/s.

5- A copy of the original product model and the counterfeit one.

The Sudanese Directorate General of Customs has not yet specified official fees for trademark’s recordal.