I. WHAT IS IPR CUSTOMS RECORDATION 

1) The customs recordation of intellectual property rights refers to the procedures whereby the intellectual property rights holder (hereinafter referred to as "the right holder") applies with the General Administration of Customs of China for the protection of intellectual property rights.

2) The intellectual property rights that may be filed include:

(1) A right holder is approved to register goods trademark within the People’s Republic of China.

(2) A right holder’s international registration which is registered in the World Intellectual Property Organization and extended the protection to China (service trademarks are excluded).

(3) Patents for invention, design or utility model for which patent rights have been granted by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).

(4) Copyright and copyright-related rights owned by citizens or organizations that are members of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works or members of the World Trade Organization.

II. WHY WE NEED TO DO THE CUSTOMS RECORDATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS?

1. Recordation is the prerequisite for the Customs’ active protection to the IPR. Although according to the Regulations on the Customs Protection of Intellectual Property amended in 2003, it is no longer necessary for the customs to put on record, if the IPR holder submits its intellectual property rights to the Customs in advance, the customs can immediately notify the right holder to confirm the right once it finds that the infringing goods are about to enter or leave the country, so as to avoid the adverse impact caused by the export of the infringing goods.

2. It helps the customs to discover and detain infringing goods in time. When filing for the record, the intellectual property right holder shall provide the legal status and relevant certificates of the intellectual property right, the contact information of the right holder, the information of the legal user, and the suspected infringing goods, etc., so that the customs can take the initiative to discover the suspected infringing goods and detain them in the daily supervision process, so that the legitimate rights and interests of the right holder can be protected in time.

3. Customs records can help reduce the economic burden of intellectual property rights holders. Under the mode of customs protection based on authority, the guarantee provided by the intellectual property right holder to the Customs shall not exceed RMB 100,000. If the intellectual property right holder has not put on record in advance, he or she cannot enjoy the above treatment and must provide a guaranteed equivalent to the goods he or she wants to detain. In addition, since November 2015, the customs will not charge official fees for record registration. As long as the right holder registers the user and logs in, it can apply for the record. There is no official fee for renewal and change of registration information.

4. Filing for customs protection of intellectual property can have a deterrent effect on infringer. The Customs shall have the right to confiscate infringing import and export goods and impose administrative penalties on import and export enterprises. The Customs also has the right to deal with the confiscated goods accordingly, such as using them for public welfare, selling them to intellectual property rights holders for compensation, eliminating infringing features and destroying them. Especially for counterfeit trademark goods, if the infringement features cannot be eliminated, they will be destroyed in a concentrated way, so that the infringing goods will no longer flow into the market. The above measures can deter and warn the infringing enterprises.

5. Filing for customs protection of intellectual property can have a deterrent effect on infringer. The Customs shall have the right to confiscate infringing import and export goods and impose administrative penalties on import and export enterprises. The Customs also has the right to deal with the confiscated goods accordingly, such as using them for public welfare, selling them to intellectual property rights holders for compensation, eliminating infringing features and destroying them. Especially for counterfeit trademark goods, if the infringement features cannot be eliminated, they will be destroyed in a concentrated way, so that the infringing goods will no longer flow into the market. The above measures can deter and warn the infringing enterprises.

III. WHO CAN APPLY FOR THE CUSTOMS RECORDATION

1. As per the relevant provisions of the current Regulations on the Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Right of the People’s Republic of China, the subject applying for customs recordation can only be the owner of the relevant intellectual property rights. If the subject of filing application is not the right holder, the filing application shall not be approved.

2. Relevant interested parties, such as exclusive license user /general license user, shall not be the subject of filing application.

IV. HOW TO APPL FOR RECORDATION AT THE CUSTOMS

1. Documents Required

(1) Application for customs protection of intellectual property: it shall contain the name and address of the right holder; The name of the intellectual property to be filed and registered and relevant information of the registration; Information on the legitimate users, i.e. importers and exporters of goods or producers; Importers and exporters of goods known to infringe intellectual property rights, manufacturers, customs at the place of entry and exit, etc.

(2) Documents to prove the subject’s qualification of the right holder.

(3) Intellectual property ownership documents to be filed.

2. Examination period 

The General Administration of Customs shall make a decision on whether to grant the recordation within 1-2 months from the date of receiving all the application documents.

3. Valid Period

It shall come into force as of the date on which the General Administration of Customs grants the recordation and shall be valid for 10 years. If the period of validity of intellectual property rights is less than 10 years, the actual expiration date may prevail. If the filing is not renewed or the intellectual property rights are no longer protected by laws and regulations, the filing shall immediately become invalid.

V. WHEN PROCESS THE RECORDATION AT THE CUSTOMS

1. When applying for recordation at the Customs, the right holder shall submit the ownership certificate of the intellectual property to be protected, such as trademark registration certificate, copyright registration certificate, patent certificate, etc. After acquiring the relevant rights (trademark right/copyright/patent right), she/he can apply with the Customs for a recordation of the rights on the goods to be needed for export.

2. After determining the importer or manufacturer of the goods, the right holder needs to add the information of the legal user under the valid record number. If the importer or manufacturer is not in the list of legal users of the right holder at the time of import and export declaration, the Customs will detain the goods and notify the right holder to confirm the right. This will not only prolong the import and export time of normal goods, resulting in an increase in the cost of the right holder; At the same time, it will waste the country's administrative resources.

3. After determining the importer or manufacturer of the goods, the right holder needs to add the information of the legal user under the valid record number. If the importer or manufacturer is not on the list of legal users of the right holder at the time of import and export declaration, the Customs will detain the goods and inform the right holder to confirm the right. This will not only prolong the import and export time of normal goods, resulting in an increase in the cost of the right holder; At the same time, it will waste the country's administrative resources.

4. The right holder or its agent should always pay attention to the status of the intellectual property rights that have been filed, so as to avoid the situation that the trademark is not renewed when it expires, and the trademark right (or copyright or patent right) is invalid. When encountered the above situation, the original recordation will become invalid. If the imported and exported goods use the same or similar trademark or copyright registered by the right holder, the customs cannot detain them, which may lead to the inflow of infringing products into the import and export market, thus damaging the rights and interests of the right holder.

5. The same or similar registered trademarks shall be applied to the customs for record at the same time, and the corresponding legal user information shall be submitted at the same time, so as to avoid the situation that the customs will compare the similar trademark of the right holder that has not been put on record with the same trademark that has been put on record during the examination, so as to detain the goods and increase the cost of proof for the right holder.

Since 2017, the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) has launched a special campaign on IPR protection nationwide, code-named "Dragon Teng", targeting enterprises with advantages in exporting intellectual property rights. Since the launch of the campaign, the number of cases in which the GACC has taken measures to protect intellectual property rights and the number of goods suspected of import and export infringement seized has increased year by year. In 2020, customs nationwide confiscated 61,900 shipments of goods suspected of intellectual property infringement and detained 56.1819 million shipments suspected of intellectual property infringement. In 2021, 84,000 cases and 71 million cases were recorded respectively.

In 2022, "Longteng" is still in action. The customs authorities in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Tianjin and Nanjing have launched various special actions aimed at cracking down on import and export violations. With the support of national policies and the exchange of needed goods in world-class markets, for import and export enterprises and other enterprises related to the global market, the customs filing of intellectual property rights can escort the right holders to protect their intellectual property rights, and is also a powerful weapon for the customs to crack down on infringement.