17 February 2021
The Trademarks Act 2019 came into force in late December 2019, paving the way for new and stronger tools for criminal enforcement against trademark infringements.
One thing was, however, incomplete — the details of how offences could be compounded. Whilst section 136 (2) of the Act grants the Controller with the power to compound offences, neither the Act nor the Trademarks Regulations 2019 shed any light on the mechanism behind compounding of offences.
On 28 August 2020, the Trademarks (Compounding of Offences) Regulations 2020 was published, which would supplements the above provision by providing further details on the types of compoundable offences and the procedures involved.
Essentially, the Regulations make it clear that the Controller may only compound the offences listed in the First Schedule of the Regulations, with the written consent of the Public Prosecutor. Once such consent has been obtained, the Controller may at any time before a charge is instituted, make a written offer to compound to the person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence. Once the offer is accepted, payment may be made through various channels accepted under the Regulations, or if the compound is not paid within the time specified in the offer, prosecution for the offence may be instituted any time thereafter without any notice to the offender. Once the offence has been compounded and the payment is made, it is treated as a settlement of the matter in lieu of prosecution of the offence.
For further information, please contact:
Karen Abraham, Partner, Shearn Delamore & Co
karen@shearndelamore.com
