(1) If the production or distribution of copies infringes copyright or another right protected under this Act, then unless Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 concerning customs enforcement of intellectual property rights and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1383/2003 (OJ L 181, 29.6.2013, p. 15), as amended, is applicable, the copies are, upon application and against payment of a security by the rightholder, following their import or export subject to confiscation by the customs authority insofar as the infringement is obvious. This applies to dealings with other Member States of the European Union and with other Contracting Parties of the Agreement on the European Economic Area only insofar as the customs authorities are responsible for controls.
(2) If the customs authority orders the confiscation, it informs the person authorised to dispose of the articles and the applicant thereof without delay. The applicant is to be informed of the origin, quantity and whereabouts of the copies, as well as of the name and address of the person authorised to dispose of the articles; the privacy of correspondence and posts (Article 10 of the Basic Law) are thereby restricted. The applicant is given the opportunity to inspect the copies insofar as this does not interfere with business or trade secrets.
(3) If no objection is raised to the seizure within two weeks following service of the notification in accordance with subsection (2) sentence 1, the customs authority orders confiscation of the seized copies.
(4) If the person authorised to dispose of the articles objects to the seizure, the customs authority informs the applicant thereof without delay. The applicant must declare to the customs authority without delay whether he or she will uphold the application in accordance with subsection (1) in respect of the seized copies.
1. If the applicant withdraws the application, the customs authority revokes the seizure without delay.
2. If the applicant upholds the application and submits an executable court decision ordering the storage of the seized copies or a limitation on the right of disposal, the customs authority takes the necessary measures.
Where the cases referred to in no. 1 or no. 2 do not exist, the customs authority revokes the seizure following the expiry of two weeks after service of the notification on the applicant in accordance with sentence 1; if the applicant can furnish proof that an application for the court decision in accordance with no. 2 has been made but has not yet been served, the seizure is maintained for no longer than a further two weeks.
(5) If the seizure proves to have been unjustified from the outset and the applicant has upheld the application referred to in subsection (1) in respect of the seized copies or did not make a declaration without delay (subsection (4) sentence 2), then the applicant is obliged to reimburse the person authorised to dispose of the articles the damage arising on account of the seizure.
(6) The application referred to in subsection (1) is to be made to the Central Customs Authority and is effective for one year, unless a shorter period is applied for; a renewed application is possible. The applicant is asked to pay costs in accordance with section 178 of the Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung) for official acts performed in connection with the application.
(7) The seizure and the confiscation may be contested by means of the legal remedies permitted against seizure and confiscation in regulatory fine proceedings under the Act on Regulatory Offences. The applicant is to be heard in the appeal proceedings. An immediate appeal (sofortige Beschwerde) is admissible against the decision of the local court; the higher regional court decides in the matter.
(8) (repealed)