Rights Holders Not Liable For Customs Storage Of Criminally Seized Counterfeits

A final Turkish judgment has held that a trademark owner cannot be charged for the storage of counterfeit goods after those goods have been seized in criminal proceedings.

Background

The case concerned 264,740 units of counterfeit Colgate toothpaste, weighing approximately 27.7 tonnes.

Following the temporary detention of the goods at customs, a criminal complaint was filed on behalf of Colgate-Palmolive Company. The Criminal Court ordered their seizure, and the destruction procedure was subsequently initiated within the criminal proceedings.

The products remained in the Customs Directorate’s warehouse from 2020 to 2023. The Customs Directorate subsequently assessed a substantial amount in storage fees against Colgate-Palmolive Company and issued a payment order for their recovery.