A client recently asked our firm’s Mongolian intellectual property lawyers for assistance regarding counterfeit products which were being sold in Mongolia. It seems the details of the manufacturer’s identify and contact information as listed on the packaging were false, so the client needed our assistance in identifying the actual importer and manufacturer. Records of the importer would be kept by Mongolian customs, but these records cannot be accessed by everyone. We presented with their options for gaining access to this information.
If there is an officially appointed distributor in Mongolia for the authentic products which are the subject of the counterfeit, this official distributor may approach Mongolia Customs, provide the contract granting it authority to distribute the relevant products in Mongolia, and request that Customs provides the name and information of the importer. This is the simplest and most straight forward course of action, but requires an existing distribution contract with an authorized Mongolian importer.
Once information on the importer is obtained from Customs, a complaint on the counterfeit goods and trademark may be made to the Mongolian Intellectual Property Office, and to Customs. The IP Office will conduct its own investigation, and will issue a report as to the suspected infringement. Assuming the report of the IP Office finds infringement and counterfeit goods, the Customs Office will stop import of the fake goods at the border. Requests may also be made to the IP Office and to Customs that they provide the authentic goods manufacturer with the officially registered name of the manufacturer to allow us to independently pursue legal actions.
However, authentic manufacturer does not have an official distributor for its products in Mongolia, the stores which are selling the counterfeit products in question must be identified, and evidence of the counterfeit goods compiled. Then a report on the counterfeit products and stores selling the goods must be submitted to the IP Office, which will then initiate an investigation and will issue a report. As above, the report of the IP Office may be shown to Mongolia Customs in order to have them stop import of the counterfeit goods.
One other option for identifying the true identity of the manufacturer will be to contact local sellers of the counterfeit products in Mongolia directly. As can be imagined this may be a long process without a real guarantee the sellers would cooperate to provide the information requested. These sellers can be presented with the legal consequences for their failure to cooperate. If the seller only knows the identity of the local Mongolian distributor, the distributor will have to be approached for information in the same way.
We will not here that Mongolia does not have a reliable “private investigator” sector so any investigative inquiries at the local stores and distributors will need to be made by an attorney.