What is the Intellectual Property Customs Recordation?
Customs protection of intellectual property refers to the protection implemented by the customs on the exclusive rights to use the registered trademarks, copyrights, and patents when examining the imported and exported goods according to the laws and administrative regulations of the People’s Republic of China.
As the management authority for import and export goods, the customs can promptly seize batches of goods when suspicious goods are discovered and notify the right holder for confirmation. Due to the advantages of timeliness and effectiveness of customs intellectual property protection procedures, this measure has attracted more and more attention in recent years. However, there are also a group of companies, especially foreign companies, who have limited understanding of China's customs protection of intellectual property rights.
How can Customs Protect Your Intellectual Property?
The intellectual property right holder achieves the purpose of intellectual property protection by requesting the customs to detain the suspected infringing goods. There are two main enforcement methods for customs to detain goods suspected of infringing rights.
Upon application
The intellectual property right owner discovers that the suspected infringing goods are about to be imported or exported and applies to the customs at the place where the goods may enter and exit to detain the suspected infringing goods and provide a guarantee. If the regulations are met, the customs shall detain the suspected infringing goods (Articles 12 to 15 of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights").
Ex officio
The customs finds that import and export goods are suspected of violating registered intellectual property rights and notifies the intellectual property right holder in writing. The intellectual property right holder shall notify the customs within 3 working days from the date of delivery of the notice whether to apply to detain the suspected infringing goods. If the intellectual property right owner applies to detain suspected infringing goods within the specified time and provides a guarantee, the customs shall detain the suspected infringing goods.
Since the ‘on application’ method requires the intellectual property right holder to conduct a large number of investigations in advance to be able to grasp the import and export information of the suspected infringing goods, It is relatively rare to apply for the detention of suspected infringing goods. However, after the intellectual property rights holders have registered their intellectual property rights at the customs, the customs have the obligation to protect the registered intellectual property rights. Therefore, in practice, the “ex officio” law enforcement model is relatively common.
Materials for Intellectual Property Customs Recordation
- Intellectual property customs protection filing application form:
- Certificate of the ownership of intellectual property;
- Name and address of the right holder;
- Name of the intellectual property to be filed and registration-related information;
- The legal user, the importer, exporter or manufacturer of the goods;
- Information about the known infringers of the intellectual property rights, such as the importers and exporters, manufacturers, entry and exit customs, etc.
- Certificate of the owning entity of the intellectual property to be filed:
- Business license, passport or the ID card of the owner of the intellectual property;
- Certificate of ownership of the intellectual property:
How to Record Your Trademark With Customs?
Step 1: Submit materials to the General Administration of Customs for acceptance.
Step 2: Upon acceptance, the General Administration of Customs will begin to examine the materials.
Step 3: Once examined, the trademark filing process has successfully been completed.
The recordation process can be divided into two period, the reviewing period and the validity period.
Reviewing Period
The General Administration of Customs will inform the applicant 1 to 2 months within the receiving date of all application materials.
Validity Period
The protection of intellectual property will take effect from the date the General Administration of Customs approves the filing and will be valid for 10 years. If the intellectual property rights are less than 10 years, the protection period will be determined by the expiry date of the intellectual property. If the filing is not renewed or the intellectual property rights are no longer protected by the customs.
Benefits of Recording Your Trademark
- Copycats are deterred from stealing your IP.
- Registering your trademark provides enhanced protection against counterfeit or infringing products. The system ensures that infringing products are discovered promptly, allowing sufficient time for investigation and action.
- Customs all over China can be included in the scope of supervision.
- Your brand is protected.
- Fake products are less likely to reach your market and be sold in competition to your own.
- The scope of protectionism is extensive as customs all over the country can be involved in detaining infringing products. Therefore, this level of protectionism can deter the frequency of infringement attempts in the future.
