What is ex officio protection in customs protection of intellectual property rights?

Sunny Worldwide LogisticsIt is a logistics company with more than 20 years of transportation experience, specializing in markets such as Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia. It is the owner of goods more than the owner of goods.

Customs’ procedures for protecting intellectual property rights of imported and exported goods in accordance with its authority

1Filing

Intellectual property rights holders apply to the General Administration of Customs for recordation of their intellectual property rights.

2Find out

The infringing goods seized by the customs mainly infringe trademark rights, and they usually use methods such as concealing declarations, false declarations, and hiding in an attempt to get through customs. The customs conducts risk analysis on declared commodities, implements key inspections, and conducts key inspections in areas with a high incidence of hiding infringing goods.

3confirm rights

When the customs discovers goods suspected of infringement of intellectual property rights registered with the General Administration of Customs in accordance with its authority, it will immediately issue a "Customs Confirmation of Intellectual Property Rights Status" to the intellectual property right holder and provide relevant materials in the possession of the customs. The intellectual property status of this batch of goods must be confirmed. If the declared price of import and export goods is obviously unreasonable or there is false declaration or concealment of declaration, the customs will inform the estimated quantity of goods and the amount of guarantee that the intellectual property right holder should submit in the "Customs Confirmation of Intellectual Property Status". If infringement is confirmed, the intellectual property right holder shall apply to the customs for detaining the goods; the customs will initiate an investigation and detain the goods suspected of infringement.

4punishment

According to Paragraph 1 of Article 25 of the "Regulations on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties of the People's Republic of China", if you import or export goods that infringe the intellectual property rights protected by the laws and administrative regulations of the People's Republic of China, the infringing goods will be confiscated and a fine of less than 30% of the value of the goods will be imposed. fine; if a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.

5Dispose

The customs’ methods for disposing of infringing goods mainly include: transferring them to relevant public welfare institutions for social welfare undertakings; if the intellectual property rights holder is willing to purchase them, the customs can transfer them to the intellectual property right holder for a fee; the confiscated goods that infringe upon intellectual property rights cannot be used. If it is used for social welfare undertakings and the intellectual property right holder has no intention to acquire it, the customs may auction it in accordance with the law after eliminating the infringing features; if the infringing features cannot be eliminated, the customs shall destroy it.

The legal basis for the Customs to issue the "Notice of Customs Confirmation of Intellectual Property Rights Status"

According to Article 44 of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, the customs shall protect intellectual property rights related to inbound and outbound goods in accordance with laws and administrative regulations.

According to Article 5 of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), the consignee of imported goods or his agent, and the consignor of exported goods or his agent shall, in accordance with national regulations, Customs shall truthfully declare the intellectual property status related to imported and exported goods and submit relevant supporting documents.

According to Article 16 of the Regulations, if the customs discovers that imported or exported goods are suspected of infringing the registered intellectual property rights, they shall immediately notify the intellectual property right holder in writing. If the intellectual property right owner files an application in accordance with Article 13 of the Regulations within 3 working days from the date of delivery of the notice, and provides a guarantee in accordance with Article 14 of the Regulations, the customs shall detain the goods suspected of infringement. , notify the intellectual property right holder in writing, and deliver the customs detention voucher to the consignee or consignor. If the intellectual property right owner fails to apply or provide guarantee within the time limit, the customs shall not detain the goods.

Other things to note

Customs does not require an application from the intellectual property right holder to initiate ex officio protection, but the intellectual property right holder should choose the following method to respond in writing within 3 working days from the date of receipt of the written notice from the customs: The intellectual property right holder believes that the relevant goods infringe upon its rights If the intellectual property right is registered with the General Administration of Customs and the customs is required to detain it, a written application should be submitted to the customs for detaining the suspected infringing goods and a guarantee should be provided; the intellectual property right holder believes that the relevant goods do not infringe his or her intellectual property rights registered with the General Administration of Customs. , or if the customs is not required to detain the suspected infringing goods, the reasons shall be explained in writing to the customs.

It should be noted that the customs will not suspend customs clearance for a long time. Intellectual property rights holders must pay attention to the above "within 3 working days" provision - if the application is not made within the time limit, the customs will resume customs clearance, and it will be difficult for the intellectual property right holder's relevant rights and interests to be effectively obtained. Assure.