Regulation of the People's Republic of China on the Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (2018 Revision)

Regulation of the People's Republic of China on the Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (2018 Revision) Regulation of the People's Republic of China on the Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (Promulgated by the Order No.395 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on December 2, 2003; revised according to the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Regulation of the People's Republic of China on the Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights on March 24, 2010; and amended in accordance with the Decision of the State Council to Amend and Repeal Certain Administrative Regulations on March 19, 2018) Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 The present Regulation is formulated in accordance with the “ Customs Law of the People's Republic of China ” in order to carry out the customs protection of intellectual property rights, to promote economic and trade contacts as well as scientific, technological and cultural contacts with foreign countries, and to maintain public benefits. Article 2 Customs protection of intellectual property rights mentioned in the present Regulation means the protection practiced by the customs of the rights to exclusive use of trademarks, copyrights and copyright-related rights, patent rights (hereinafter uniformly referred to as intellectual property rights), which are related to imported and exported goods and protected by the laws and administrative regulations of the People's Republic of China. Article 3 The State prohibits the import and export of goods infringing upon intellectual property rights. The customs shall, in accordance with relevant laws and the present Regulation, practice protection of intellectual property rights, and exercise the relevant powers prescribed in the “ Customs Law of the People's Republic of China ”. Article 4 Where an intellectual property right holder requests the customs to practice protection of his intellectual property rights, he shall apply to the customs for taking protective measures. Article 5 A consignee of imported goods or his agent, or a consigner of exported goods or his agent shall, in accordance with the provisions of the State, truthfully declare to the customs the status of his intellectual property rights related to the imported or exported goods, and shall submit relevant documents of proof. Article 6 The customs shall, when practicing protection of intellectual property rights, keep the commercial secrets of the relevant parties. Chapter II Archival Filing of Intellectual Property Rights Article 7 An intellectual property right holder may, in accordance with the present Regulation, apply to the General Administration of Customs for archival filing of his intellectual property rights; if applying for archival filing, he shall submit an application letter, which shall include the following contents: (1) the intellectual property right holder's name, and his place of registration or his nationality, etc.; (2) the name and contents of as well as the relevant information on the intellectual property; (3) the status of permission to exercise the intellectual property; (4) the name and place of origin of the goods for which the intellectual property right holder lawfully exercises the intellectual property, the customs of entry or exit, the importer and exporter, the main features and the price, etc. of such goods; (5) the manufacturer, importer and exporter of the goods which are known to have infringed upon the intellectual property, the customs of entry or exit, the importer and exporter, the main features and the price, etc. of such goods. The intellectual property right holder shall attach a document of proof, if any, contained in the contents of the application letter in the preceding paragraph. Article 8 The General Administration of Customs shall, within 30 working days as of receiving all the application documents, make a decision on whether or not permitting the archival filing, and notify the applicant in writing; if it does not permit the archival filing, it shall state the reason thereof. In the event of any of the following circumstances, the General Administration of Customs shall not permit the archival filing: (1) The application documents are incomplete or invalid; (2) The applicant is not the intellectual property right holder; (3) The intellectual property is no longer protected by laws or administrative regulations. Article 9 Where the customs finds that an intellectual property right holder who applies for archival filing for his intellectual property right does not truthfully provide the relevant information or documents, the General Administration of Customs may cancel the archival filing. Article 10 The archival filing of customs protection of an intellectual property right shall become valid as of the day when the General Administration of Customs permits the archival filing, with the validity period to be 10 years. Where an intellectual property right is valid, the right holder may, within 6 months prior to the expiry of the validity period for the archival filing of customs protection of the intellectual property right, apply to the General Administration of Customs for renewal of the archival filing. The validity period for the renewed archival filing of each time shall be 10 years. Where an intellectual property right holder does not apply for renewal at the expiry of the validity period for archival filing of the customs protection of the intellectual property right, or the intellectual property right is no longer protected by laws or administrative re......