What is Intellectual Property Customs Filing?

Intellectual property customs protection refers to the protection of the exclusive rights to registered trademarks, copyrights, and patents implemented by customs during the inspection of imported and exported goods in accordance with the laws and administrative regulations of the People’s Republic of China.
As the management agency for import and export goods, customs can promptly seal batches of goods and notify the rights holder for confirmation when suspicious goods are discovered. Due to the timeliness and effectiveness of customs intellectual property protection procedures, this measure has received increasing attention in recent years. However, there are also some companies, especially foreign companies, with limited understanding of China’s intellectual property customs protection.

How does customs protect your intellectual property?

The intellectual property rights holder seeks to protect intellectual property rights by requesting customs to detain suspected infringing goods. There are two main enforcement methods for customs to detain suspected infringing goods.

According to the application

When the intellectual property owner discovers that the suspected infringing goods are about to be imported or exported, they apply to the customs of the place where the goods are imported or exported to detain the suspected infringing goods and provide guarantees. If it meets the requirements, the customs shall detain the goods suspected of infringement (Articles 12 to 15 of the Customs Protection Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Intellectual Property).

of course

Customs has discovered that imported and exported goods are suspected of infringing on registered intellectual property rights and has notified the intellectual property holder in writing. The intellectual property rights holder shall notify the customs within 3 working days from the date of notification whether to apply for the detention of suspected infringing goods. If the intellectual property owner applies to detain the suspected infringing goods and provides a guarantee within the prescribed time, the customs shall detain the suspected infringing goods.
Due to the “in application” method requiring intellectual property rights holders to conduct extensive investigations in advance to obtain import and export information of suspected infringing goods, there are relatively few applications to detain suspected infringing goods. However, after the intellectual property holder registers their intellectual property with the customs, the customs has an obligation to protect the registered intellectual property. Therefore, in practice, the “of course” law enforcement model is more common.

Intellectual Property Customs Filing Materials

• Application Form for Customs Protection Filing of Intellectual Property Rights;
• Proof of intellectual property ownership;
• The name and address of the rights holder;
• The name of the intellectual property to be filed and the relevant registration information;
• The legitimate user, importer, exporter, or manufacturer of the goods;
• Known information about intellectual property infringers, such as importers and exporters, manufacturers, and customs at entry and exit;
• Intellectual property ownership entity certificate to be filed;
• The business license, passport or ID card of the intellectual property owner;
• Intellectual Property Ownership Certificate.

How to file a trademark with customs?

Step 1: Submit the materials to the General Administration of Customs for acceptance.
Step 2: After acceptance, the General Administration of Customs will begin to inspect the materials.
Step 3: After examination, the trademark filing procedure has been successfully completed.
The recording process can be divided into two periods, namely the review period and the validity period.

Audit cycle

The General Administration of Customs will notify the applicant within 1 to 2 months of receiving all application materials.

period of validity

Intellectual property protection shall come into effect from the date of approval and filing by the General Administration of Customs, and shall be valid for 10 years. If the intellectual property is less than 10 years, the protection period will be based on the expiration date of the intellectual property. If the filing has not been renewed or the intellectual property is no longer protected by customs.

The benefits of recording trademarks

• Counterfeiters are prevented from stealing your IP.
• Registering a trademark can enhance the protection of counterfeit or infringing products. This system ensures timely detection of infringing products, leaving sufficient time for investigation and action.
• All national customs can be included in the scope of supervision.
• Your brand is protected.
• Counterfeit products are unlikely to enter your market and be sold to yourself in competition.
• The scope of protectionism is very broad, as customs across the country may be involved in detaining infringing products. Therefore, this level of protectionism can prevent the frequency of future infringement attempts.

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