Border Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights

Quick Guide to Border Enforcement Measures for Trademarks, Copyright, Geographical Indications and Registered Designs

Seizure on request (Lodgement of Notice)

If you are –

The owner or licensee of a registered trademark;
The owner or licensee of a copyright;
A producer or trader of goods identified by a registered geographical indication, or any association of such producers or traders; or
The owner or exclusive licensee of a registered design;

You may give the Director-General of Customs a written notice requesting the seizure of goods that are expected to be imported or exported, and suspected to infringe the trademark, copyright, geographical indication or registered design in question. You will have to provide sufficient information:

a) to identify the infringing goods;
b) to enable the Director-General of Customs to ascertain when and where the goods are expected to be imported or exported; and
c) to satisfy the Director-General of Customs that the goods are infringing.

Any such notice given to the Director-General of Customs is valid for the day the notice is given and another 59 days afterwards (i.e. for 60 days). Within this period, Singapore Customs will seize the identified goods if they are imported into, or to be exported from, Singapore. Once the goods have been seized, you and the importer or exporter of the goods will be informed of the seizure.

Once informed of the seizure, you will have to commence an action for infringement of the trademark, copyright, geographical indication or registered design, and notify the Director-General of Customs accordingly, within 10 working days after the date specified in the notice of seizure given by the Director-General of Customs. The time limit for initiating infringement action may be extended by a further 10 working days, upon request.

Ex-officio Seizure

Besides seizure on request, Singapore Customs may also seize copies or goods which are reasonably suspected to infringe a registered trademark, a copyright or a registered geographical indication, and that are imported into or to be exported from Singapore. Singapore Customs will inform the owner or exclusive licensee of the copyright or the proprietor or licensee of the registered trademark (“the right holder”), or the registrant of the registered geographical indication, as soon as practicable after the seizure.

The rights holder (for trademark or copyright), or the registrant, or any producer or trader of goods, or any association of such producers or traders (for geographical indication), may then request the Director-General of Customs to continue to detain the goods. To do so, they must

a) Provide written notice to Singapore Customs within 48 hours after the date of the notice of the seizure from Singapore Customs. Singapore Customs will respond with a notice to take action as soon as practicable

b) Subsequently commence an action for infringement of the trademark, copyright or geographical indication and notify the Director-General of Customs accordingly within 10 working days after the date specified in the notice to take action.

The time limit for initiating infringement action may be extended by a further 10 working days upon request.

Security Requirements

In addition to the above, the right holder (for trademark or copyright), or the registrant or any producer or trader of goods or any association of such producers or traders (for geographical indication) must provide a security that is sufficient:

a) To reimburse the Government of Singapore for any liability or reasonable expense it is likely to incur in relation to the seizure, storage and disposal of the goods; and

b) To pay such compensation as ordered by the court for loss suffered by the defendant if the infringement action is not taken or is dismissed or discontinued, or if the court decides there was no infringement.

The security may be given to cover (a) the current shipment only, or (b) the current shipment and any future shipments to be seized by Singapore Customs (an “annual security”). An annual security can cover up to 5 outstanding shipments (i.e. shipments detained by Singapore Customs for which the civil proceedings have not been concluded). If at any time the Director-General of Customs is of the opinion that the security given is insufficient, the person depositing the security shall top up the security accordingly.

Procedure for Giving Notice

To provide notice, please select and complete the appropriate form from the table below.

For Seizure on Request (Lodgement of Notice), written notice should be given using Trade Marks Form 1, Copyright Form 1, Geographical Indications Form 1, or Registered Designs Form.

Where the right holder or registrant has been notified by Singapore Customs that there has been Ex-Officio Seizure of goods, and they wish for Singapore Customs to continue to detain the goods, written notice should be given using Trade Marks Form 2, Copyright Form 2, or Geographical Indications Form 2.

Forms	Related Links
Trade Marks Form 1 – Seizure on Request	Link
Copyright Form 1 – Seizure on Request	Link
Geographical Indications Form 1 – Seizure on Request	Link
Registered Designs Form – Seizure on Request	Link
Trade Marks Form 2 – Ex-Officio Seizure	Link
Copyright Form 2 – Ex-Officio Seizure	Link
Geographical Indications Form 2 – Ex-Officio Seizure	Link

The Notice should be accompanied by the following:

A statutory declaration that the particulars in the notice are true;
A fee of S$200;
Security in the form of a deposit of money or a guarantee issued by a bank, finance company or insurance company in Singapore. Please contact Operations Management Branch, Singapore Customs, on the quantum of the security required. A guarantee shall remain in force (a) until 31 December of the following year in the case of an annual security; or (b) for 1 year in the case of a one-time security;
A Letter of Undertaking to bear all reasonable costs relating to the seizure, transportation, storage and disposal of the goods;
(For trade marks) A copy of the certificate of registration issued by the Registrar of Trade Marks in relation to the registered trade mark specified in the notice, and evidence that the registration of the registered trade mark was duly renewed at all times;
(For geographical indications) A copy of the certificate of registration issued by the Registrar of Geographical Indications in relation to the registered geographical indication specified in the notice, and evidence that the registration of the registered geographical indication was duly renewed at all times;
(For registered designs) A copy of the certificate of registration issued by the Registrar of Designs in relation to the registered design specified in the notice, and evidence that the period of registration of the registered design was duly extended at all times; and
(Where the notice is given by a person as agent) Evidence of the authority of the person giving the notice.

The templates for the guarantee and letter of undertaking can be found below.

Forms	Related Links
Guarantee to be issued by a bank, finance company or insurance company in Singapore	Link	(Guidelines)
Letter of Undertaking under the Trade Marks Act	Link
Letter of Undertaking under the Copyright Act	Link
Letter of Undertaking under Geographical Indications Act	Link
Letter of Undertaking under Registered Designs Act	Link

The fee of S$200 and security deposit shall be made via bank transfer to Singapore Customs.

The required documents shall be submitted to Singapore Customs (attention: Operations Management Branch) at 1 Bulim Drive, Singapore 648171.

For more information on border enforcement measures under the Trade Marks Act 1998, Copyright Act 2021, Geographical Indications Act 2014 and Registered Designs Act 2000, please refer to the following:

Contact Us

For clarification, please email to customs_operations_management@customs.gov.sg.