JR ROSAS LAW FIRM have been working with our clients on IP mining best practices that manage the export control liability in ways that make sense for their businesses; our team includes practitioners on the export control side and on the IP side.
Our Firm can assist you with formulating an effective export control program, including drafting policies and procedures as well as educating in-house personnel. Through training, companies can develop in-house export control expertise that improves efficiency and reduces the expense of compliance in the long term. As with any corporate policy, education and consistent observance of policies and procedures is key; however, education is particularly important for export control compliance because civil violations are strict–liability offenses that may result in significant penalties. Thus, export control regulations require companies to understand what their technology is and how it may be used as well as whether or not disclosure of that technology to foreign nationals is controlled or prohibited.
We understand that export control policies and procedures simply aren’t valuable if they aren’t tailored to the client’s business practices. Put simply, the potential for export control liability is present for any organization that employs or interacts with foreign nationals or participates in each markets.
The key to guarding against liability is to establish and observe policies and procedures that intelligently address export control issues throughout technology development, protection and disclosure. Doing so reduces potential liability, without adversely affecting the efficiency of a company’s day-to-day operations or hindering the growth of a company’s IP portfolio.
Working with customs authorities is essential for the success of your anti-counterfeiting efforts. It's important to record your trademark with customs departments if you are to identify and act against infringing products; however, we would also recommend providing customs with supporting information/examples of your genuine branded goods, their packaging and usual shipping routes when filing the trademark recordal/application for action. This will help customs to detect anything unusual at border control and to identify and alert you to suspicious consignments. A trademark recordal generally lasts one year and is renewable.
