Czech Republic crackdown on counterfeit pallets
24 July 2015Extending trademark protection laws in the Czech Republic has made it possible to take stronger action against counterfeits and unlicensed repairs of EPAL Euro pallets in the country.
By extending the laws, the rights of trademark right proprietors can also be more effectively claimed for Euro pallets.
The European Pallet Association (EPAL) described the move as an important step towards having better control of the quality of the pallet pool in the Czech Republic and to fundamentally improving the situation for both EPAL licensees as well as the users of EPAL Euro pallets.
The EPAL Academy organised a two-day workshop for customs authorities aimed at identifying counterfeit EPAL Euro pallets. Trademark protection laws have also changed in favour of trade mark proprietors in the Slovak Republic.
The Slovakian customs authority has pledged the necessary support to EPAL’s representative in the Czech Republic and Slovakia - Dana Babusikova.
During the coming months, the EPAL Academy will run training courses for customs officers and users in Slovakia.
“We are doing exactly as we have promised to manufacturers and repairers holding an EPAL licence, who have for many years demanded an improvement of the markets in the Czech Republic and Slovakia,” said Dana Babusikova.
The customs authorities have already been able to deliver some initial results in just two weeks after the first training course given by the EPAL Academy in the Czech Republic, having identified almost 1,300 counterfeit EPAL Euro pallets.
