Intellectual Property Customs Filing and Recording

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.

The Importance of Intellectual Property Customs Filing

The filing of your intellectual property such as trademarks brings you significant advantages:

• It is a prerequisite for customs to take proactive protective measures: According to the "Regulations on the Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights", if the intellectual property right holder registers the intellectual property rights with the customs in advance, the customs has the right to proactively suspend the import and export of infringing goods discovered by it, and investigate and deal with the infringing goods;
  
• Help customs to find infringing goods: When applying for registration, the intellectual property rights holder needs to provide the legal status of the intellectual property rights, the contact information of the rights holder, the legal use of the intellectual property rights, the situation of the goods suspected of infringement, relevant pictures and photos, etc., so that the customs can make it possible for the customs to use them in the daily supervision process for suspected infringing goods. Therefore, the filing of intellectual property rights in advance can protect the legitimate rights and interests in a timely manner;
  
• The financial burden on intellectual property rights holders is lighter: According to the implementation measures of the General Administration of Customs, under the customs ‘ex officio’ protection model, the guarantee provided by the intellectual property right holder to the customs shall not exceed RMB 100,000. If the intellectual property rights owner has not filed the intellectual property rights record in advance, he must provide a guarantee equivalent to the goods he requests to be detained.
• Present a deterrent effect on infringers: Since the customs confiscates imported and exported infringing goods and imposes administrative penalties on importing and exporting enterprises, early registration of intellectual property rights can serve as a warning and deterrent to those enterprises that have imported and exported infringing goods without scruples in the past and encourage them to consciously respect relevant intellectual property. In addition, some companies that do not maliciously export infringing products may also inquire and register to learn whether the goods they contract to process, and export may constitute infringement. 
  

How to Apply for Intellectual Property Customs Filing?

Application Materials

1. 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.

2. 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;

3. Certificate of ownership of the intellectual property:

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.

Once recorded, each time a commodity with the trademark is cleared, the trademark owner will receive a written notice from local customs confirming the authenticity of the commodity. In the situation that the trademark owner confirms that the commodity is fraudulent and not authorised by the trademark owner, customs will seize the goods immediately.

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.

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.

How Long Does Trademark Recording Take?

The whole process of recording your trademark with Chinese Customs will take 2-3 months.

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