Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (revised in 218)

chapter I general provisions article 1 these regulations are formulated in accordance with the customs law of the people's Republic of China for the purpose of implementing customs protection of intellectual property rights, promoting foreign economic and trade, scientific and cultural exchanges, and safeguarding the interests of the public. Article 2 The term "customs protection of intellectual property rights" as mentioned in these Regulations refers to the protection of trademark exclusive right, copyright and copyright-related rights and patents (hereinafter referred to as intellectual property rights) related to import and export goods and protected by laws and administrative regulations of the People's Republic of China. Article 3 The State prohibits the import and export of goods infringing intellectual property rights.

the customs implements the protection of intellectual property rights in accordance with the relevant laws and the provisions of these regulations, and exercises the relevant powers stipulated in the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China. Article 4 Where an intellectual property right holder requests the Customs to implement intellectual property protection, he shall apply to the Customs for taking protective measures. Article 5 The consignee of imported goods or his agent, the consignor of exported goods or his agent shall truthfully declare the status of intellectual property rights related to imported and exported goods to the customs in accordance with state regulations, and submit relevant certification documents. Article 6 When implementing intellectual property protection, the customs shall keep the business secrets of the parties concerned. Chapter II Filing of Intellectual Property Rights Article 7 Intellectual property rights holders may apply to the General Administration of Customs for filing their intellectual property rights in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations; Where an application is filed, an application shall be submitted. The application shall include the following contents:

(1) the name, place of registration or nationality of the intellectual property right holder;

(2) the name, content and related information of intellectual property rights;

(3) the status of intellectual property licensing;

(4) the name, place of origin, customs at the place of entry and exit, importers and exporters, main features, price, etc. of the goods for which the intellectual property right holder legally exercises intellectual property rights;

(5) manufacturers, importers and exporters, customs at entry and exit places, main features and prices of goods known to infringe intellectual property rights.

if the application specified in the preceding paragraph contains supporting documents, the intellectual property right holder shall attach supporting documents. Article 8 The General Administration of Customs shall, within 3 working days from the date of receiving all the application documents, make a decision on whether to approve the filing, and notify the applicant in writing; If it is not filed, it shall explain the reasons.

Under any of the following circumstances, the General Administration of Customs will not file the case:

(1) The application documents are incomplete or invalid;

(2) the applicant is not the intellectual property right holder;

(3) intellectual property rights are no longer protected by laws and administrative regulations. Article 9 If the Customs discovers that the intellectual property right holder has failed to truthfully provide relevant information or documents when applying for intellectual property filing, the General Administration of Customs may cancel the filing. Article 1 The filing for customs protection of intellectual property rights shall take effect from the date when the General Administration of Customs approves the filing, and the validity period shall be 1 years.

if the intellectual property right is valid, the intellectual property right holder may apply to the General Administration of Customs for renewal of the filing within 6 months before the expiry of the validity period of the filing for customs protection of intellectual property rights. The validity period of each renewal filing is 1 years.

if the filing period of customs protection of intellectual property rights expires without applying for renewal or the intellectual property rights are no longer protected by laws and administrative regulations, the filing of customs protection of intellectual property rights will become invalid immediately. Article 11 In case of any change in the filing of intellectual property rights, the intellectual property right holder shall, within 3 working days from the date of the change, go through the formalities of filing change or cancellation with the General Administration of Customs.

if the intellectual property right holder fails to go through the formalities of alteration or cancellation in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, which has seriously affected the legal import and export of others or the customs' performance of its regulatory duties according to law, the General Administration of Customs may cancel the relevant filing upon the application of the interested parties, or it may voluntarily cancel the relevant filing. Chapter III Application for Detention of Suspected Infringement Goods and Its Disposal Article 12 If the intellectual property right holder discovers that the suspected infringing goods are about to be imported or exported, he may apply to the customs at the place where the goods enter or leave the country for detention of the suspected infringing goods. Article 13 Where an intellectual property right holder requests the customs to detain the goods suspected of infringement, he shall submit an application and relevant supporting documents, and provide sufficient evidence to prove the obvious existence of the infringement facts.

the application shall include the following main contents:

(1) the name, place of registration or nationality of the intellectual property right holder;

(2) the name, content and related information of intellectual property rights;

(3) the names of the consignee and consignor of the suspected infringing goods;

(4) the name and specifications of the goods suspected of infringement;

(5) the port, time and means of transport at which the suspected infringing goods may enter or leave the country.

if the suspected infringing goods are suspected of infringing the filed intellectual property rights, the application shall also include the customs record number. Article 14 Where the intellectual property right holder requests the customs to detain the goods suspected of infringement, he shall provide the customs with a guarantee not exceeding the equivalent value of the goods, which shall be used to compensate the losses that may be caused to the consignee and consignor due to improper application, and to pay for the storage, custody and disposal of the goods after being detained by the customs; If the intellectual property right holder directly pays the warehousing and storage expenses to the warehouse, it shall be deducted from the guarantee. Specific measures shall be formulated by the General Administration of Customs. Article 15 If the intellectual property right holder applies for detaining the suspected infringing goods, which conforms to the provisions of Article 13 of these regulations and provides guarantee in accordance with the provisions of Article 14 of these regulations, the customs shall detain the suspected infringing goods, notify the intellectual property right holder in writing, and serve the customs detention voucher to the consignee or consignor.

if the application of the intellectual property right holder to detain the suspected infringing goods does not conform to the provisions of Article 13 of these regulations, or fails to provide guarantee in accordance with the provisions of Article 14 of these regulations, the customs shall reject the application and notify the intellectual property right holder in writing.