Regulations of the P.R.C. Regarding Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

（Promulgated by Decree No. 179 issued by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on July 5， 1995， and effective as of October 1， 1995）

Chapter I General Principles

Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with relevant laws of the People's Republic of China， in order to enforce Customs protection of intellectual property rights， promote with foreign countries economic， trade， technological and cultural exchanges and safeguard social and public interests.

Article 2 These Regulations are applicable to intellectual property rights， including copyrights， patents and rights to the exclusive use of trademarks， which are related to the imported and exported goods and protected by the laws and administrative regulations of the People's Republic of China.

Article 3 The import or export of the goods which infringe on intellectual property rights protected by the laws and administrative regulations of the People's Republic of China （hereinafter referred to as infringing goods） is forbidden.

Article 4 The Customs Office of the People's Republic of China shall enforce the protection of intellectual property rights related to imported or exported goods， and shall exercise relevant powers stipulated by the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 5 Consignees of imported goods or consignors of exported goods and their registered agents （hereinafter jointly referred to as consignees or consignors） shall honestly declare the state of intellectual property rights related to imported or exported goods and shall submit relevant documents to Customs for verification.

Article 6 Intellectual property rights owners and their registered agents （hereinafter jointly referred to as intellectual property owners） requesting Customs to enforce protection of intellectual property related to imported or exported goods， shall report said intellectual property rights to Customs for the record， and when necessary shall file an application with said office for the institution of protective measures.

Article 7 When enforcing the protection of intellectual property rights， Customs shall protect all trade secrets of the parties concerned.

Chapter II Record

Article 8 Intellectual property rights owners shall submit written applications to the General Customs Administration when applying to the Customs Office for the protection of intellectual property rights.

The application shall include：

（1） the title or name， registration place or nationality， domicile， legal representative and principal place of business of the owner of intellectual property rights；

（2） registration number， content and period of validity of the registered trademark， or the number， content and period of validity of the patent， or content of the copyright；

（3） name and place of production of the goods related to intellectual property rights；

（4） persons authorized or licensed to use intellectual property rights；

（5） status of principal importing or exporting Customs Office， importer or exporter， principal features， and normal prices of the goods related to intellectual property rights；

（6） status of the manufacturer， importer or exporter， principal importing or exporting Customs Office， principal features and prices of known infringing goods；

（7） other information the General Customs Administration considers relevant.

The following documents must be enclosed when submitting applications：

（1） copy of approved identification card， or transcript of registration certificate of intellectual property owner， or copy attested by appropriate registration departments；

（2） copy of the registration certificate of the registered trademark， copy of the announcement of assignment of registered trademark approved by the Trademark Bureau， or the trademark licensing contract entered in the records Of the Trademark Bureau； or copy of the original certificate， transcript of patent assignment contract registered with and publicly announced by the Patent Office， and copy of the licensing contract for exploitation of patent； or certificate of proof of copyright or other evidence；

（3） miscellaneous documents the General Customs Administration requires.

Article 9 The General Customs Administration shall， within 30 days upon receipt of application documents， notify applicants if the application will be entered in the record. If entered into the record， the General Customs Administration shall provide a certificate of record of Customs protection of intellectual property rights； the Administration shall explain reasons for the failure to enter applications.

Article 10 The record of Customs protection of intellectual property rights shall take effect on the day said record is approved by the General Customs Administration. The period of validity shall be 7 years.

Subject to the validity of intellectual property rights， the owner of said intellectual property rights may apply to the General Customs Administration for the renewal of record within 6 months prior to the expiration of the period of validity of the record of Customs protection of intellectual property rights. The period of validity for each renewal of record shall be 7 years.

The record of Customs protection of intellectual property rights shall be invalid if no application for renewal has been filed prior to the expiration of the period of validity of the record of Customs protection of intellectual property， or expiration of the legal protection period of the right to the exclusive use of trademarks， patents or copyrights.

Article 11 If the status of recorded intellectual property rights is altered， the owner of said intellectual property rights shall complete all General Customs Administration formalities required for altering or canceling the record within 10 days after the day the intellectual property agency approves the alteration.

Chapter III Applications

Article 12 Intellectual property rights owners who have been entered into the record of the General Customs Administration may submit an application requesting that the Customs Office located in site of importation or exportation adopt protective measures for intellectual property rights if they suspect infringements of goods entering or exiting the country.

Article 13 Interested parties shall submit a written application requesting that Customs institute protective measures for intellectual property rights.

The application shall include：

（1） name and Customs record number of the intellectual property rights applicant requests Customs to protect；

（2） name， domicile， legal representative and principal place of business of the alleged infringer；

（3） information on name and estimated volume of suspected infringing goods；

（4） location of the probable entry or exit port， time， conveyance and consignees or consignor of the suspected infringing goods；

（5） related proof of infringement；

（6） measures applicant requests Customs to institute；

（7） miscellaneous information requested by Customs.

Article 14 Applicants requesting that Customs seize suspected infringing goods should submit a bail bond equal to the CIF price of imported goods or the FOB price of exported goods.

Article 15 Intellectual property rights owners requesting that Customs institute protective measures for intellectual property rights not as yet entered into the records of the General Customs Administration shall complete all formalities of the record of intellectual property rights in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of these Regulations when applying for same.

Article 16 Customs shall refuse to accept applications requesting that Customs institute protective measures for intellectual property rights which fail to conform with relevant provisions in this Chapter.

Chapter IV Investigation and Handling of Cases

Article 17 When acting on the application of intellectual property rights owners to detain suspected infringing goods， Customs must file a Customs Detention Receipt， serve same on the consignee or consignor of the goods， and notify the applicant in writing.

Consignees or consignors claiming that imported or exported goods do not infringe on the intellectual property rights of the applicant shall， within 7 days of being served the Customs Detention Receipt， file a written objection explaining related circumstances. Should the consignee or consignor fail to file an objection within the prescribed 7 day period， Customs may， depending on the outcome of an investigation， treat and deal with proven infringing goods accordingly. Customs shall immediately notify the applicant in writing of any objection filed by the consignee or consignor.

The applicant shall have the right to apply to the appropriate intellectual property rights protection agency requesting that said agency deal with the infringement dispute， or otherwise take action concerning the dispute in the people's court within 15 days from the date the written notification from Customs was served in accordance with the first paragraph in this Article.

Article 18 Customs shall have the authority to detain imported or exported goods suspected of infringing on intellectual property rights entered in Customs records. Customs must serve the consignee or consignor with a Customs Detention Receipt and immediately notify the intellectual property rights owner in writing when goods are detained. If the intellectual property rights owner submits a written application for intellectual property protection within 3 days following the written notification of the detention of goods， the matter shall be handled in accordance with provisions in Article 17 of these Regulations.

Article 19 Consignees or consignors maintaining that detained goods do not in fact infringe on the intellectual property rights of the applicant may apply for clearance of the goods after relinquishing a bail bond equal to two times the CIF price of the imported goods， or two times the FOB price of exported goods.

Article 20 When detaining suspected infringing goods under the procedures described in Articles 17 and 18 of these Regulations， Customs must conduct an investigation within 15 days following the actual detention of the goods unless any parties involved have submitted the infringement dispute to the appropriate intellectual property rights agency for handling， or has instituted action concerning the dispute in the people's court.

When suspecting any form of criminal activity in relation to intellectual property rights infringements， Customs shall alert the appropriate agency for further investigation.

Article 21 The intellectual property rights owner should afford all necessary assistance to Customs officials conducting an investigation of the suspected infringing goods in detention， and all other relevant matters.

Article 22 The Customs may release the suspected infringing goods in detention under any of the following circumstances： （1） if an investigation by Customs or an appropriate intellectual property rights agency has eliminated any suspicion of infringement； （2） if the people's court， by judgment or order， has eliminated any suspicion of infringement； （3） if parties involved in the dispute failed to initiate action in the people's court prior to the specified deadline， or if the people's court refuses to hear the case， or if the people's court fails to issue an order to adopt property preservation measures； （4） if the intellectual property rights owner fails to file a reply within the specified period of time， or if the said owner relinquishes Customs protection of intellectual property rights.

Article 23 Suspected infringing goods in detention later found by Customs， or by an appropriate intellectual property rights agency， or by the people's court to be infringing goods shall be confiscated by Customs.

Article 24 Customs shall handle confiscated goods in accordance with the following provisions in the light of differing circumstances： （1） goods infringing copyrights shall be destroyed； （2） goods infringing rights to exclusive use of a trademark shall be destroyed if the infringing trademark cannot be removed from the goods； in cases when the trademark can be removed and the goods are still useable， the goods shall， after the trademark has been properly destroyed， be used for public service， or sold at public auction for the personal use of persons other than the infringer； （3） infringing goods other than those prescribed in the two preceding paragraphs shall be dealt with in accordance with relevant regulations of the State Council.

Article 25 Once decisions by Customs， a relevant intellectual property rights agency， or a judgment or order of the people's court take effect， any bail bond posted to Customs by concerned parties shall be returned after subtraction of the following fees： （1） warehousing， storage， disposal and other relevant fees applying to said goods； （2） compensation paid to interested parties for goods detained due to an unjust application filed by the applicant for Customs protection.

Article 26 Civil disputes between intellectual property rights owners and consignees or consignors of the goods shall be resolved by litigation， arbitration or other lawful means selected at the discretion of the parties involved. Customs bears no responsibility for civil cases.

Article 27 Customs shall be free from any responsibility and the intellectual property rights owner shall bear full responsibility if Customs， due to inaccurate information provided by the said intellectual property rights owner， fails to locate the infringing goods， or fails to commence applications for protection of intellectual property rights in a timely manner or takes improper measures to protect the intellectual property after accepting the record of intellectual property rights protection and the application for adopting measures to protect intellectual property rights.

Chapter V Legal Responsibility

Article 27 Customs shall be free from any responsibility and the intellectual property rights owner shall bear full responsibility if Customs， due to inaccurate information provided by the said intellectual property rights owner， fails to locate the infringing goods， or fails to commence applications for protection of intellectual property rights in a timely manner or takes improper measures to protect the intellectual property after accepting the record of intellectual property rights protection and the application for adopting measures to protect intellectual property rights.

Chapter V Legal Responsibility

Article 28 In cases when a consignee or consignor was aware or should otherwise have been aware that their goods infringed on the intellectual property rights of another party， Customs may fine said consignee or consignor an amount not more than the CIF price for imported goods or the FOB price for exported goods.

Article 29 If a consignee or consignor fails to honestly declare the status of intellectual property rights related to imported or exported goods， or fails to submit relevant verification certificates， Customs may fine the consignee or consignor an amount not more than the CIF price for imported goods or the FOB price for exported goods.

Article 30 Any interested party disagreeing with the punishment decision of Customs may， within 30 days from the date of receiving the punishment notice， or within 30 days from the date of the announcement of the punishment decision when the Customs is unable to serve the punishment notice on parties concerned， apply for reconsideration from the Customs rendering the punishment decision， or to a higher level Customs department； the Customs department concerned shall render a reconsideration decision within 90 days after receiving the reconsideration application. Parties who disagree with the reconsideration decision may institute action in the local people's court within 30 days after receiving the reconsideration decision.

Concerned parties may file suit directly in the people's court within 30 days after receiving the punishment notice， or the announcement of the punishment.

Article 31 If the importation or exportation of infringing goods constitutes a criminal act， the offender shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law.

Article 32 Customs officials or staff responsible for enforcing intellectual property rights protection who are found to have abused their power， willfully created undue difficulties， neglected their duties， or otherwise engaged in any malpractice to benefit an interested party， with related circumstances deemed serious enough to constitute a crime， shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law； Customs officials or staff engaged in acts which do not constitute a crime shall be given administrative sanctions in accordance with the law.

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 33 Goods entering or exiting the country as luggage and other articles carried or posted by any individual which exceed the amount required for personal use， or an otherwise reasonable amount， and which infringe on the intellectual property rights of an owner under the protection of the laws and administrative regulations of the People's Republic of China， shall be treated as infringing goods and shall be handled in accordance with relevant provisions in these Regulations.

Article 34 Customs may charge recording fees and other necessary fees related to detaining or otherwise handling infringing goods in the course of carrying out intellectual property rights protection. Specific procedures for charging related fees shall be formulated by the General Customs Administration in association with the finance department and the commodity price department of the State Council.

Article 35 The General Customs Administration shall formulate specific procedures for applications for recording Customs protection for intellectual property rights， and for enforcing intellectual property rights protection， as well as all related forms and documents required.

Article 36 These Regulations shall go into effect as of October 1， 1995.