Jordan - summary of Customs recordals

Good friends Saba have published a useful summary of Customs recordals in Jordan in their January 2017 newsletter (available here). They say:

"Border measures are a key tool in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy and a critical element of a successful intellectual property enforcement system. In the scope of the continuous efforts to create competent border enforcement measures and to provide effective protection, recordals in Jordan are available at two different authorities, the General Customs Department and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA). Both work separately, however. ASEZA is only concerned with the shipments that are cleared into the free zone only.

One fundamental premise of the recordation system (other than providing a central registry containing information for recorded trademarks) is that it allows Customs officials to adopt an ex-officio border system. An ex-officio system is different from the standard border system in which a judicial authority orders Customs to detain the infringing shipment after identifying the infringing goods. The key advantage of the ex-officio system is that it allows for prompt and proactive action by Customs officials thus avoiding the delays inherently involved in seeking judicial action. Customs officials are always on the lookout for infringing goods and are thus able to act quickly to confiscate counterfeit and pirated merchandise.

Pursuant to this recordation system, the owner of a trademark registration can apply to the above-mentioned entities requesting recordation. The application should include certain information as required by the applicable policies and must be accompanied by the certificate of registration of the mark and a power of attorney. The Customs will then issue a recordation notice.

The below table lists the required documents for recordal with the General Customs Department and ASEZA:

Recordal with General Customs Department	Recordal with Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA)
• Power of attorney, legalized up to the Jordanian consulate • Copy of the registration certificate of the trademark to be recorded • A petition duly executed on behalf of the rights holder • Brochures or images showing how the genuine trademark is being used	• Power of attorney, legalized up to the Jordanian Consulate • Copy of the registration certificate of the trademark to be recorded • Application form • Brochures or images showing how the genuine trademark is being used
Recordal is valid for the trademark’s protection term, renewable for like periods	Recordal is valid for one year, renewable for like periods

Should you have any questions, or require any additional information, please contact us at news@sabaip.com"