Shipment of Counterfeit Goods in
Singapore:
The Extent of Liability of Freight Forwarders
Yusarn
Audrey
As part of international
trade, goods are commonly shipped and delivered across multiple borders (eg.
due to transhipment). This inevitably exposes shippers (freight forwarders) that
knowingly or unknowingly carry counterfeit goods to border enforcement laws and
applicable regulations of multiple jurisdictions. In particular, questions of
their liability for trade mark infringement (or other forms of infringement of
intellectual property rights) may arise due to their carrying of the said
shipments.
This issue was discussed
by the Singapore High Court decision in Louis Vuitton Malletier v. Megastar Shipping Pte Ltd [2017] SGHC 305 (High Court of Singapore, 24 November 2017) (LV v Megastar), where
guidance was provided vis-à-vis the potential liability of freight forwarders that
carry shipments containing counterfeit goods.
The High Court determined
that whether a freight forwarder (or other intermediary) would be liable for
trade mark infringement is highly fact-sensitive, and depends on various
factors such as the nature of the transaction and the extent of their knowledge
and/or involvement in the same.
The court also made it
clear that trade mark infringement may arise even if
the goods are merely in transit (eg. where the shipment is brought into
Singapore temporarily pending transhipment to another location) and are not
actually placed on the market in Singapore.
[This is an Authors'
Take post, which provides readers with an insight into current IP scholarship,
featuring preliminary comments and thoughts from authors of articles accepted
for publication in forthcoming issues of the Journal of Intellectual Property
Law & Practice (OUP).]
