Ministers meeting at the General Affairs Council reached a political agreement on the draft regulation aimed at strengthen the conditions and procedures for action by customs authorities in the EU in order to protect intellectual property rights. Among other measures, the draft regulation provides for a simplified procedure that will to facilitate the destruction of counterfeited and pirated goods seized by customs authorities.

The new regulation will allow EU customs authorities to take more easy and quick action in relation to counterfeited and pirated goods. Such measures include a simplified procedure that will allow the destruction of abandoned goods avoiding formal and costly legal procedures. For these goods the agreement for destruction will presumed unless the owner has not been explicitly opposed.

For small consignments a specific procedure will be applied that will allow the seized goods to be destroyed without the consent of the right holder. In any case, the measures foreseen by the new regulations will not be applicable to non-commercial goods contained in travellers' personal luggage.

These new rules on custom enforcement will also be extended to other infringements of intellectual property rights that are not covered by current rules, such as trade names and certain models and protected designs. All these measures are aimed at helping to improve the protection of the right-holders, as well as to protect consumers by ensuring the safety and quality of all products marketed within the single market.