Christoph Cordes
Esche Schuemann Commichau, Attorney at Law, Hamburg, Germany

Border detention proceedings are an important tool for safeguarding patent protection: On application of the right-holder customs authorities detain goods which are suspected to infringe intellectual property rights. After a short period of time, customs officials destroy the goods unless the importer objects which triggers court proceedings to verify the alleged intellectual property right infringement. This article will review border detention proceedings in the European Union and will advise as to the dos and don’ts.