Irkutsk customs officers seized a batch of 3 thousand counterfeit Barbie Girl dolls that a local company tried to import from China. An expert found the packaging markings too similar to Mattels registered trademarks, and the rights holder had not authorized their use. An administrative case was opened for illegal use of a trademark, the goods were seized and will be destroyed.
Customs officers detained 3,000 counterfeit Barbie dolls of Chinese manufacture that a local company attempted to import into the Russian Federation, the agency’s press service reports.An unnamed limited liability company from Irkutsk submitted a shipment of children’s toys imported from the PRC for customs declaration using remote release technology at the Irkutsk Customs Post, and during inspection customs officers discovered a batch of dolls marked with the designation "Barbie Girl" (Made in China).
As experts established, the designations applied to the toy packaging are confusingly similar to the registered trademarks of their rights holder - the American company Mattel Ink, the world’s largest toy manufacturer, which also produces the famous Barbie doll. A representative of this company in the Russian Federation stated that the rights holder had not given permission to use the trademarks either to the manufacturer of the seized dolls - a Chinese company, or to the Irkutsk importing company, the statement said.
An administrative case was opened over the incident under Part 1 of Article 14.10 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation ("Illegal use of a trademark"), and the goods were seized. The offender faces a fine, and the goods will be destroyed.