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Notarized Purchase Evidence
Meaning
Formal verification of an infringing transaction by a public notary provides a high level of evidentiary weight in intellectual property disputes within the mainland judicial system. The collection of notarized purchase evidence involves a notary public accompanying a buyer to a physical location or witnessing an online purchase to document the entire process of acquiring an infringing good. This procedure ensures that the source, the date and the specific items purchased are authenticated by an official officer of the state.
It is a fundamental part of building a case for trademark or patent infringement because it removes any doubt about the chain of custody of the evidence. The boundary of this practice is the physical or digital presence of the notary during the act of purchase and the subsequent sealing of the evidence.
Trap Purchase
The strategy of using a secret shopper to buy counterfeit goods is a common way to gather the necessary proof for a lawsuit. When this action is performed as notarized purchase evidence, the notary observes the buyer entering the shop, the payment being made and the receipt being issued. The notary then takes possession of the goods or seals them in a tamper proof bag with an official stamp.
This prevents the defendant from claiming that the goods were planted or that the transaction never took place. For online sales, the notary watches the screen as the buyer navigates the website, completes the checkout and receives the shipping confirmation. This real time verification is much more difficult for a defendant to challenge in court than a simple receipt or a photograph.
Notarial Protocol
Every step of the evidence gathering process must follow the strict rules set by the local notary association and the ministry of justice. The resulting document, known as a notarial certificate, describes in detail everything the notary saw and heard during the purchase. This certificate for notarized purchase evidence includes copies of the receipts, photos of the store front and a description of the infringing products.
The notary must remain neutral and cannot act as a witness for the plaintiff beyond what was directly observed during the official procedure. If the protocol is not followed correctly, the court may reject the certificate or give it less weight in the final judgment. This formal structure is what gives the evidence its high level of credibility in a legal setting.
Evidentiary Weight
Under the Civil Procedure Law, facts that are documented by a notary are generally accepted as true unless there is strong evidence to the contrary. This gives notarized purchase evidence a significant advantage over other types of proof like private investigator reports or employee testimonies. It allows the judge to move quickly to the questions of law and the calculation of damages rather than debating whether the infringement actually occurred.
Because the notary is an independent third party, their account of the transaction is seen as objective and reliable. This reliability is especially important in cases where the defendant is likely to destroy evidence or deny their involvement in the illegal activity. The use of notarized evidence is a standard requirement for any successful intellectual property enforcement campaign in the region.