The right holder must prove within ten working days of receiving the notification on the suspension of infringing goods that he has taken an action for infringement and has applied for a provisional measure to be ordered by the court. If the right holder makes a statement that he does not wish to exercise his rights, or fails to prove that he has applied for a provisional measure, or if the application for such a measure has been rejected by the court, the customs authority must forthwith notify the person submitting the goods to customs clearance, and, following this, the customs goods must be treated in accordance with the application of this latter person. At the same time, the customs authority notifies the right holder of putting an end to the direct customs supervision.

Under Articles 5 and 6 of the Border Measures Decree, the right holder must prove within ten working days of receiving the notification that he has taken an action for infringement and has applied for a provisional to be ordered by the court. The court decides, within fifteen working days of receiving the application for an interim measure, at the latest, whether to maintain the suspension as a seizure or release the goods. (On provisional measures see the replies to questions 25 36.)

The importer, consignee or owner might lodge an application for compensation for injury caused by wrongful detention or through the detention pursuant to Article 55 of the TRIPS Agreement to the competent court, in a separate procedure. The reply to question 36 applies mutatis mutandis to such a case.

The customs authority, observing the provisions on the protection of personal data, has to provide information, at the request of the right holder, on the person applying for the customs clearance, on the name and address of the consignee of the customs goods, and it also has to ensure that the right holder may observe and examine the customs goods in order that the right holder can exercise his rights. For the purpose of accelerating customs proceedings, the customs authority may take samples from the customs goods.

The customs authority, observing the provisions on the protection of data, has to provide information, at the request of the right holder (which should be made in writing), on the person applying for the customs clearance, and on the name and address of the consignee of the customs goods. In respect of the protection of personal data, Act No. LXIII of 1992 is also applicable.

Basically, the competent authorities can act ex officio in criminal and in administrative cases. In civil law cases, ex officio action is not possible. The Border Measures Decree relates to trademarks, geographical indication, copyright and neighbouring rights. It provides for measures against infringements of these intellectual property rights. The customs authority can take measures ex officio, namely, it can place the customs goods under direct customs supervision, or it can decide to place the customs goods to a bonded warehouse if it obtains such data through its other proceedings, that make it probable that the goods submitted for customs clearance are infringing goods. If, in a proceeding initiated ex officio, the person of the right holder cannot be established, the customs authority must contact the Hungarian Patent Office in the case of an infringement of the protection of trademarks or geographical indications, or the relevant collective administration organization in the case of an infringement of copyright or neighbouring rights. The Hungarian Patent Office, on the basis of the available data, must inform the customs authority of the identity of the right holder within five days. If the collecting administration organization does not provide information on the identity of the right holder within five days, or does not wish to act against the infringement, the customs authority will put an end to the direct customs supervision, and proceeds with the customs clearance in accordance with the application of the person submitting the goods.

Hungarian law permits both destruction and non commercial disposal of goods found to be infringing. For details see the reply to question 22.

(a) The competent Court. (b) The competent authority which was involved in the case previously (the customs authority, the police, etc.), or the officers responsible for the execution of judgements ("bailiffs").

Non commercial traffic: importation or exportation of customs goods, goods not constituting a commercial quantity, imported by, arriving for, exported or sent out by a natural person, to an individual or total value not exceeding the forint (Ft) amount defined, or below the value limit. Alcoholic beverages: 1 litre of spirits; 1 litre of wine; 5 litres of beer. Tobacco products: 500 cigarettes; 100 cigars; or 100 grams of tobacco. Coffee, tea, cocoa and all spice herbs and their mixtures thereof: 1 kilo each, except for: seasoning paprika and the mixture thereof. Other goods: up to the value of Ft 500/item 10 per type; up to the value of Ft 2 000/item 5 per type; up to the value of Ft 5 000/item 2 per type; over the value of Ft 5 000/item 1 per type. Motor vehicle: 1/year/family.

Article 329/A of the Criminal Code (see the reply to question 1) qualifies violation of authors' rights and neighbouring rights as a crime in the following manner: "(1) That person causing financial prejudice by violating the right of the author on his literary, scientific or artistic work, or that of the performing artist on his performance, or that of the producer on his sound recording, or that of the radio or television broadcaster on his program, shall be deemed to commit a misdemeanour, and shall be imprisoned up to two years, punished to do work for the benefit of the public, or fined. "(2) The penalty for a felony shall be imprisonment up to three years, if the violation of authors' rights and neighbouring rights: (a) causes considerable financial prejudice (over Ft 2 000 000); (b) is committed in a businesslike manner. "(3) The penalty shall be imprisonment up to 5 years, if the violation of authors' rights and neighbouring rights is committed by causing particularly great financial prejudice (over Ft 6 000 000). "(4) That person, who commits the violation of authors' and neighbouring rights recklessly, shall be punished for a misdemeanour with imprisonment up to one year, or with work to be done for the benefit of the public or with fine." These provisions of the Criminal Code entered into force on 15 May 1993. Furthermore, under Article 329 of Criminal Code, an infringement of rights to intellectual creations is committed when a person makes the false impression that he owns the intellectual creation, invention, innovation or industrial design of another person, and causes thereby pecuniary disadvantage to the entitled party, or, misusing his job at an economic organization, makes the utilization or assertion of an intellectual creation, invention, innovation or industrial design of another person dependent on his being given a share in the fee derived, or in the profit or gains originating therefrom. This sort of infringement is a felony and is punishable with imprisonment up to three years. As a result of an amendment to the Criminal Code in 1994, false indication of goods also amounts to a crime, which can be punished by imprisonment up to three years.

Under the Criminal Code, seizure and forfeiture (confiscation) is possible in all cases. The basic rules are the following: The property must be confiscated which has been used or designed as an instrument for the perpetration of a crime, if it is owned by the perpetrator, and also otherwise, if its possession endangers public security; or which came into being through the perpetration of a crime; or which has been received by the perpetrator of a crime from the owner or from another person with the owner's consent, in return for the perpetration. That printed press material in which crime is realized must also be confiscated. In cases defined by the law, that property must be confiscated in respect of which the crime has been perpetrated, or which was the object of a given pecuniary advantage. In the case of violation of authors' rights and neighbouring rights, the tangible property owned by the offender in respect of which the offence has been committed, must be confiscated. Confiscation is admissible even when the tangible property is not owned by the offender, but the owner has previously been aware of the commission of the offence (Article 329/A (5) of the Criminal Code).

Under Article 296 of the Criminal Code false indication of goods is a crime: the person who markets goods of considerable quantity without the consent of a competitor with such characteristic external appearance, packaging or name from which the competitor or his goods having characteristic, features can be recognized, commits a felony, and is punishable by imprisonment up to three years. Furthermore, deception of consumers is committed when the person who in the interest of increasing the marketability of goods states before large publicity untrue facts in a way suitable for deception in respect of essential features of the goods, or gives information suitable for deception about an essential feature of the goods. It is a misdemeanour and punishable by imprisonment up to two years, labour in the public interest or a fine. For the purposes of applying these provisions the following qualify as essential features of goods: their composition, usability, their influence on health or environment, their treatment, origin, whether they meet legal requirements, standards or habitual requirements for such goods, as well as if the utilization of the goods requires the realization of conditions essentially differing from habitual ones.

See the replies to questions 55 57.

The Government of Hungary reserves its previous position relating to the submission of statistical data.

See the reply to follow-up question 1 above.

The competent authority in Hungary authorized to accept applications for a request to suspend release of suspected infringing goods is the customs office where the import or export of illegal goods is expected to take place, or where the customs clearance of such goods has been initiated, or, in the case of a so called general application, it may be the National Headquarters of the Customs and Finance Guard.

The "proceedings leading to a decision on the merits of the case" are judicial proceedings. The right holder must prove within ten working days of receiving the notification of the suspension of infringing goods that he has taken an action for infringement and has applied for provisional measure to be ordered by the court.

There are no any ways other than the application (stipulated in Articles 51 and 52 of the TRIPS Agreement) which enable a right holder to request the competent authorities to suspend the release to the goods which infringe intellectual property rights or which are suspected to infringe intellectual property right, but the customs authority shall take measures ex officio, to place the customs goods under direct customs supervision, or must place the customs goods to a bonded warehouse if it obtains such data through its other proceedings, on the basis of which it is probable that the goods submitted for customs clearance are illegal goods.

Under Section 5 of Government Decree No. 128/1997 (VII. 14.) Korm. on field of customs administration proceedings against the infringement of intellectual property rights (the Border Measures Decree), the customs authority has to take a decision on the merits within five working days of the date when the application was lodged. If a specific application has been lodged to request a measure in relation to customs goods which have been submitted for customs clearance, the customs authority has to take its decision within five days, taking into account the needs of the customs clearance proceeding. On the basis of an accepted application, the customs authority places the customs goods under direct customs supervision for ten working days, and the right holder is forthwith notified thereof. This deadline may be prolonged by ten working days in a justified case.

The right holder must prove within ten working days of receiving the notification of the suspension of infringing goods that he has taken an action for infringement and has applied for a provisional measure to be ordered by the court. This deadline may be prolonged by ten working days in a justified case. If the right holder makes a statement that he does not wish to exercise his rights, or fails to prove that he has applied for a provisional measure, or if the application for such a measure has been rejected by the court, the customs authority must forthwith notify the person submitting the goods to customs clearance, and, following this, the customs goods must be treated in accordance with the application of this latter person. At the same time, the customs authority notifies the right holder of putting an end to the direct customs supervision.