On February 18, 2004 Sojuzpatent's patent attorneys participated in a conference organized by the Association of the Russian Patent Attorneys. The topic of the conference was the recent amendments to the Russian Customs Code. The amendments discussed came into force on January 1, 2004 and make it possible to fight against the counterfeit products during the customs clearing procedure. The owners of copyright, trademark and the appellation of origin of goods can apply now to introduce their IP objects into special State Customs Register to prevent the unauthorized entry of the grey import into the territory of the Russian Federation. The main panelist was Mr. Shyrigin, Head of Department of the State Customs Committee.