Enforcement Practice On July, 1, 2002 new Administrative Violations Code (AVC) of Russian Federation came into effect which stipulates administrative responsibility for copyright infringement and illegal use of trade marks. The procedural part of Code states that customs bodies have right to file reports of above-stated intellectual property rights infringements discovered during customs control. The reports, filed by customs bodies serve as a legal ground for court judgments imposing administrative penalties and fines and/or confiscation of imported goods that violate copyright or other intellectual property rights or trade marks. The state bodies conducted analysis of trade mark protection enforcement practice. The conducted study resulted in development of guidelines and recommendations for customs bodies on revealing and punishing offences connected to illegal use of trade marks. Those guidelines define actions and serve as legal ground for customs bodies actions and are based on concrete examples.

Customs bodies of foreign states control from several thousand up to several tens of thousand of trade marks. The customs bodies of Russia, according to information of legal rights owners, control about 450 trade marks which are filed with intellectual property register of State Customs Committee of Russia.

The next step is to develop methodical recommendations concerning owner’s legal and adjoining rights. The analysis of court judgments shows that there is an urgent need to review current judicial practice and submit it for consideration to Supreme Arbitration Court of Russian Federation. It is necessary to note, that first enforcement practice results have shown necessity to update administrative violations legislation. In particular, it is required to add to Code regulations on conducting investigations with purpose of their qualitative pre-trial study and add legal permission to conduct necessary examinations. It would be expedient to increase impeachment timeframe, as law breakers, in some cases, delay proceedings by every possible means, and go unpunished because of impossibility to impeach them just two months after date of offence.

The "Greys" Consolidate A tendency disturbing enough surfaced recently and is connected to "grey" importers joining efforts to counteract measures adopted by State Customs Committee of Russia and by customs bodies. The given counteraction is carried out as in legal field (disputing in due order requirements of normative legal acts, appealing actions of customs bodies and their officials), as with use of financial and administrative resources.

The New Code – The New Opportunities Starting January, 1, 2004, when a shipment of products is suspected to be counterfeit, customs bodies are given right to detain goods or delay release of goods containing objects of intellectual property for up to 20 days, and to inform legal owner as well as a number of other rights. The turn-over of counterfeit goods will considerably decline in case of intellectual property legislation control at all stages of foreign economic transaction, starting with signing of contract and followed by customs registration.

Copyright 2005 OpenRussia.ru Russian business directory

- Easy and convenient to use

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Mention problem your product addresses and present your product as only real solution to that problem.

For example, you can urge visitors to: "Order now -- don't delay!" or you can add a more persuasive argument by stating: "Order now and boost your energy levels through roof in less than a week!"

Promise specific results and back them up with a guarantee. Instead of saying, "By using this product, you'll increase your sales," say, "Your sales will increase by up to 20% in 30 days or less -- guaranteed!" This establishes a higher perceived value in your product.

Whenever you can, include a persuasive tidbit that piques your visitors' interest or adds to your credibility. For example...

- A link that says "About Us" is informative, but doesn't give reader a good reason why they should care. A call to action like: "Discover why over 20,000 business owners trust us" is far more effective.

- A link that says "Products" is far less compelling than a link like this: "Click here now to find best tool for job."

Encourage visitors to think of your product or service as something that already belongs to them. Transfer ownership by actually including them in your call to action: "Order now and your mirror will be showing a new you with a full head of hair in less than 60 days -- guaranteed!"

Try to instill a sense of urgency so your visitors feel compelled to make a purchase right away rather than leave and return to your web site later. You can create urgency in several ways. For example, you can...

- Limit time for which your offer is available: "Available for next 5 DAYS ONLY!"

- limit quantity of products or services you offer: "Available only to first 100 people who order!"

- Include a discount for a limited time or on a limited quantity of products.

- Include bonus items for a limited time or on a limited quantity of products.

However, you have to follow through on any such claims you make, or your credibility will be ruined.

FINAL THOUGHTS

After your headline, your call to action is THE most important element on your web site. It should stand out from rest of your copy and be easy for your visitors to find.

In order to draw attention to it, use bolding, a larger font size, a different color -- whatever best suits style of your web site.

To test effectiveness of your call to action, ask some friends to look over your homepage. How long does it take them to find your call to action? As a general rule, it shouldn't take people any longer than 3 seconds.

Don’t forget, your call to action is what reflects true purpose of your web site. It's key that gets your visitors to do what you want them to do. Take time to craft enticing copy that really encourages your visitors to take action. If you make people an offer they can’t refuse, your sales will really soar!

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