When may Customs stop or seize counterfeit goods

One of the many.. many.. tasks of the European Customs Authorities is to protect intellectual property rights. I would like to refer shortly to a recent decision on EU Customs’ right to seize goods when the good are an imitation or (alledgely) violate a trademark. Up until now the EU Customs Authorities had a strong right to intervene and seize goods. The European Court now ruled that goods, that are still under customs supervision, such as in a bonded warehouse or in transit, can only be seized if there is a real change or real risk that such goods will end up on the European market. That is the case when goods are intended to be put on sale in the EU because e.g. they were advertised to consumers in the EU, or where it is apparent from documents or correspondence that the goods are intended for EU customers. For more information look on curia.eu and search for case nr.  C-446/09