The General Secretariat of Customs in Brazil has issued a Normative Act relating to the seizure of goods by Customs authorities in order to comply with the minimum requirements of the TRIPs Agreement.

Under the Normative Act, trademark and copyright owners may record with the Customs authorities their trademark registrations and copyrighted works, as well as a legalized Power of Attorney and a list of authorized licensees.

Thereafter, Customs authorities may seize goods that are suspected to be counterfeit and must notify the right holder of the seizure. The right holder will then have a 10-day period within which to bring proceedings to ensure that the allegedly counterfeit goods remain in custody, pending a decision on the merits with respect to the legitimacy of the goods.