Top Ten Cases of Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in China
Xiamen Customs implemented risk management and successively seized cases of washing powder that infringed Bilang’s trademark rights
Basic situation of the case
On May 19, 2005, a company in Nan'an City declared to Dongdu Customs, a subsidiary of Xiamen Customs, to export 1,900 boxes of laundry detergent. This batch of laundry detergent was packed in two containers, totaling 36 tons. The destination port is New York, USA. Customs officers decided to conduct a risk analysis on the cargo and found the following doubts:
Judging from the recent export situation of low-end chemical products in Xiamen Customs District, low-end chemical products are generally sold to underdeveloped or developing countries. In China and developed countries, it is often difficult to enter the market due to their high technical standards, but this time the export country is the United States;
This batch of new clothing powder is a OEM product, and OEM production is easier Infringement occurs;
Low-end chemical products have low technical requirements for production processes and are easily counterfeited.
As a result, the customs officers decided to unpack and inspect the goods. The inspection officers found that the goods had the trademark "ARIEL" on them, and the outer packaging was also marked with P$G, originating in Mexico. By inquiring the "Intellectual Property Customs Protection Registration Application System" of the General Administration of Customs, customs officers also learned that "ARIEL" is a trademark applied for protection by the American Procter & Gamble Company from the General Administration of Customs, and the Chinese trademark is "Bi Lang". The customs notified Procter & Gamble of the United States of the relevant situation. After on-site sampling and identification, P&G believed that the batch of new clothing powder was counterfeit and submitted a detention application to Xiamen Customs on May 27. Xiamen Customs detained the batch of washing powder based on P&G's application.
During the investigation, Dongdu Customs found that this batch of goods was ordered by an American businessman named Robert from the party through the Internet. There were 4 containers in the first batch and they were shipped in two batches. The destination of the new clothes powder is the Port of Atlanta in the United States. In order to find out the whereabouts of the other two containers, customs officers educated the parties on customs protection laws and regulations for intellectual property rights and explained customs policies. After persuasion and education by the customs, the client admitted that two other containers of laundry detergent exported to Atlanta, USA, had been declared to the customs but had not yet been exported. Since the customs had seized the infringing goods exported to New York, the client temporarily stored the counterfeit laundry detergent in the storage yard. Be prepared to play it by ear. Due to the highly responsible professionalism and rigorous and meticulous work attitude of the customs officers, 1,900 boxes of counterfeit "Bilang" washing powder from Nan'an Yuexing Technology and Chemical Co., Ltd. totaling 36 tons were once again seized.
After detecting two consecutive cases of counterfeit washing powder, the customs conducted a summary and analysis of the case and believed that the export of counterfeit washing powder may still occur in the near future. Therefore, Dongdu Customs used the risk management mechanism to control certain export goods. On July 6, 2005, another successful seizure was made of 2,850 boxes (54 tons) of counterfeit "Bilang" laundry detergent in three containers exported to New York, the United States, by a company in Chongqing.
Dongdu Customs seized three consecutive cases of infringement of the "Bi Lang" trademark rights of the American Procter & Gamble Company in less than two months, and seized 126 tons of infringing washing powder, effectively cracking down on a small number of overseas Unscrupulous merchants use online transactions and freight channels to continuously break through to engage in illegal and infringing activities, which has effectively curbed the export of counterfeit laundry detergent.
On August 10, 2005, representatives of Procter & Gamble in the United States made a special trip to send a letter of thanks to Xiamen Customs, thanking Xiamen Customs for detecting three consecutive cases of infringement of P&G’s trademark rights in 2005 and effectively combating counterfeiting. Infringement acts safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of intellectual property rights holders.
Reasons for selection
This case has been selected as one of the "Top Ten Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement in 2005" by the National Intellectual Property Protection Working Group;
Customs clearance risk Analyze and determine suspected goods infringement, and further expand the results by making full use of case clues, which has a strong demonstration effect on future port intellectual property law enforcement;
The number of infringing goods seized is relatively large.
Shanghai Customs successively seized cases of exports of sewing machines that infringed the "Butterfly" trademark
Basic situation of the case
On May 27, 2005, a company in Xiandu, Zhejiang submitted a request to Shanghai Customs declared a batch of sewing machine heads for export to the United Arab Emirates. Since the company had multiple records of exporting infringing sewing machines to Shanghai Customs, the customs officers issued an inspection and control order to "check whether the brand is infringing" on the goods when reviewing the documents.
On May 28, Shanghai Overseas Port Customs inspected the goods and found that the actual export goods were marked with the word "New Butterfly" on the head of the sewing machine. However, the word "New Butterfly" was also marked on the head of the sewing machine. For the "Butterfly" graphic trademark, the rights holder confirmed that the goods were infringing upon inspection and applied to customs to detain the suspected infringing goods. After counting, this batch of suspected infringing sewing machine heads contained 2,425 boxes. During the investigation of the case, the customs also found that the party involved had exported a counterfeit "Butterfly" sewing machine and was seized by Shanghai Customs. He borrowed the "Xindie" word trademark applied for registration by others and tried to mix the word "Xindie" and the butterfly graphic in order to deceive the company. Pass.
After investigation, the customs made an administrative penalty decision on the parties concerned in accordance with the law.
In order to enable domestic enterprises to truly benefit from customs protection, Shanghai Customs has increased its efforts to protect domestic enterprises and seized a large number of cases of infringement of domestic independent brands, especially the case of infringement of the "Butterfly" trademark rights. Commonly seen, 8 cases of sewing machines infringing the "Butterfly" trademark were seized throughout the year, and 8,529 infringing sewing machines were seized, with a case value of RMB 1.5 million. Through the severe crackdown by the customs, the feedback from the right holder to the customs is also very encouraging: in 2005, the right holder's export volume and export earnings increased by 26.66% and 46.67% respectively compared with 2004. Sales in once-shrinking markets such as Nigeria and Iran have greatly improved. , traditional markets such as Malaysia, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman are also recovering. Customs crackdowns on infringing products not only protect the intellectual property rights of enterprises, but also effectively safeguard the interests of enterprises and the country.
Reason for selection
This is a case where the customs protects the independent brands of domestic enterprises and encourages independent innovation, which is of positive significance in the current situation;
The customs uses risk analysis technology It is recommended to conduct surveillance on enterprises suspected of infringement;
The quantity of infringing goods is large;
Shenzhen Customs seized a case of pretending to export counterfeit TVs
Basic situation of the case< /p>
On November 24, 2005, an import and export company in Shenzhen declared to Shenzhen Customs Dapeng Port to export 12,051 kilograms of unlicensed TV accessories (casings, circuit boards) and other goods, destined for Hong Kong.
When the goods were inspected by large container inspection equipment, the customs found that the machine inspection pattern was abnormal. It was not the shape of the scattered accessories declared, but a regular square pattern. The customs immediately switched the goods to manual inspection. After unloading all the goods, it was found that all the goods were packed in cartons with the word "DKEY" printed on them.
Although there was nothing unusual on the surface, customs officers found that the quality of the carton was quite low and the cargo was very heavy. The outer carton alone did not seem to be able to bear the load. Because there was something fishy about the carton, the on-site customs officer decided to open the box and inspect it. After opening the outer box, the customs officers found that there was another carton of the same shape and slightly smaller size marked with the "SHARP" trademark inside, and inside the carton was a TV marked with the "SHARP" trademark. After on-site inventory, the actual export goods were 927 14-inch TV sets marked with the "SHARP" trademark.
The customs notified the rights holder Sharp Co., Ltd. of the relevant situation. Sharp Co., Ltd. filed an application for intellectual property protection with the customs.
Although during the customs investigation of the case, the parties involved refused to cooperate for various reasons. However, the Customs overcame many difficulties and collected evidence from various parties. Finally, it found out the infringement facts of the parties and imposed administrative penalties on them.
Reasons for selection
In response to the infringers' use of "boxes within boxes" to evade customs supervision and refusal to cooperate with customs investigations, customs inspection and investigation personnel have demonstrated seriousness, responsibility, and The meticulous work attitude is worthy of promotion;
The number of infringing goods is large.
Ningbo Customs seized the case of exporting counterfeit "Flying" sewing machines and overlocking machines
Basic information on the case
In April 2005, a company in Inner Mongolia reported to Ningbo Customs The Beilun Customs declared a batch of export transit goods named plastic photo frames and glasses.
During the review, the customs found that there was a relatively high risk of infringement in this batch of goods.
So the customs decided to inspect the batch of goods. After inspection, it was found that the goods were actually 1,001 sewing machines with the "Feiren" trademark and 500 hemming machines with the "Feiren" trademark. The right owner, Shanghai Butterfly Import and Export Co., Ltd., confirmed that all the above goods are infringing goods.
According to the application for customs protection of intellectual property rights submitted by Shanghai Butterfly Import and Export Co., Ltd., Ningbo Customs detained the goods in accordance with the law, and after investigation, imposed administrative penalties on the exporter of the infringing goods, confiscating the infringing goods and imposing a fine.
After the seizure of this case, Shanghai Butterfly Import and Export Co., Ltd. further realized the importance of customs protection of intellectual property rights. At the suggestion of Ningbo Customs, the company compiled its intellectual property protection information and burned it into a CD for customs reference. It also introduced in detail the infringement of the company's products, so that the customs had a better understanding of the export situation of the infringing goods. After further understanding, a better communication mechanism has been formed with Ningbo Customs. In 2005, Ningbo Customs seized three cases of export infringement of its "Flying Man" and "Butterfly" trademark rights, with goods worth more than 380,000 yuan, and seized 2,898 infringing sewing machines and overlock sewing machines.
Reason for selection
This is a case where the customs protects the independent brands of domestic enterprises and encourages independent innovation, which is of positive significance in the current situation;
The customs uses risk analysis technology The seizure of infringing goods is worth recommending;
The quantity of infringing goods is large;
Fuzhou Customs seized the case of exporting counterfeit "NIKE" and "PUMA" sneakers
Basic information on the case
On June 7, 2005, a Shanghai company declared to the Mawei Port under Fuzhou Customs to export 25,632 pairs of PVC-soled unbranded sports shoes.
After risk analysis, the customs review officer of Mawei Customs believed that the product name and the country of shipment on the customs declaration were highly suspected of infringement, and decisively issued a summary control order. After receiving the instruction, the inspection and customs officers immediately organized an inspection and used the "Cobalt 60" container inspection system to conduct on-board inspection and image analysis of the container. They found that there was a major suspicion of other goods being hidden in the container, and immediately decided to conduct a manual re-inspection. Although after unpacking, it was found that nearly a hundred boxes of sports shoes piled at the entrance were unlicensed, which was consistent with the declared status. However, the inspection and customs officers were keenly aware of the infringement cases at the entrance of the container based on the results of the machine inspection and their experience in detecting infringement cases in the past. The unbranded sneakers might be disguises, so we decided to open the channel and continue an in-depth inspection. Finally, 1,426 boxes of "NIKE" and "PUMA" sneakers with simple packaging and rough workmanship were found in the middle and bottom of the container. After counting, there were 5,760 pairs of "NIKE" sneakers and 5,840 pairs of "PUMA" sneakers. After contacting the trademark owner, it was determined that the above 11,600 pairs of sports shoes were counterfeit products. On June 14, Fuzhou Customs detained the above-mentioned goods in accordance with the law based on the protection application submitted by the right holder. After investigation, Fuzhou Customs imposed an administrative penalty of confiscating the goods and imposing a fine on the party concerned.
Reasons for selection
Customs review personnel have made full use of risk analysis methods to control goods suspected of infringement, which is worthy of promotion;
Because the infringers have adopted concealment methods Evasion from customs supervision made it more difficult to detect cases, but the inspectors overcame the difficulties and showed a high sense of responsibility for their work, which should be affirmed;
The number of infringing goods is relatively large.
Tianjin Customs seized the case of exporting counterfeit "Permanent" and "MT-12" welding rods
Basic situation of the case
On April 5, 2005, a certain company in Hebei The welding rod factory declared to Tianjin Xingang Customs to export 22 tons of welding rods and 2 tons of toilet paper. Since Tianjin Customs twice seized the welding rod factory exporting welding rods that infringed other people's trademark rights in November and December 2004 and listed the factory as a key monitoring enterprise with a high risk of infringement, the customs decided to Welding rods are inspected.
After inspection, the customs found that although there were packages of toilet paper placed at the door of the container, there were welding rods in the middle and rear of the container, and the cartons were marked "Permanent" and "MT-12" " logo, which is suspected of infringing the exclusive rights of the "Permanent" and "MT-12" trademarks owned by Tianjin Hardware and Minerals Import and Export Group Company.
Customs learned during the investigation that this batch of welding rods was ordered from the party concerned by Grace, a foreign businessman in Ghana, at the end of March 2005. In addition to requiring the use of the "Permanent" and "MT-12" trademarks on this batch of welding rods, the foreign businessman also provided samples and packaging boxes of infringing welding rods. In order to evade customs supervision, the person involved purchased a batch of toilet paper in Mancheng, Baoding City and placed it on the outside of the container. Despite this, he still could not escape the sharp eyes of the customs.
On June 30, 2005, Tianjin Customs confiscated the infringing goods in accordance with the law and imposed a fine on the parties involved.
Reasons for selection
This case is a successful case of Customs using risk analysis technology to monitor and seize high-risk enterprises;
It is a case of Customs protecting the independent brands of domestic enterprises , a case of encouraging independent innovation;
In this case, a foreign businessman designated an infringing trademark and provided trademark packaging, which is an infringement and illegal case of internal and external collusion. External promotion can show that there are a large number of foreign businessmen in the infringing goods exported from my country. The intervening factors have certain typical significance.
Lhasa Customs seized the case of Raoguan exporting infringing clothing
Basic situation of the case
On June 25, 2005, Shigatse Customs, a subsidiary of Lhasa Customs, received information and obtained We are informed that a batch of infringing goods will leave the country from the Jilong Port under the jurisdiction of this customs in the near future. Shigatse Customs immediately organized personnel to go to Jilong Port to set up checkpoints and blockades.
After two days and one night of guarding, customs officers finally intercepted four fully loaded freight vehicles preparing to leave the country at the Resuo Bridge on the China-Nepal border at noon on June 28. After inspecting the goods, the customs found 325 pieces of sports shoes and sports pants marked with the trademarks "ADIDAS", "REEBOK" and "NIKE" packed in plastic bags. It has been confirmed by Adidas Suzhou Co., Ltd., Lipok International Co., Ltd., and Nike (Suzhou) Sporting Goods Co., Ltd. that the above-mentioned sports shoes and sports pants are all infringing products.
Customs investigation found that the batch of clothing and sports shoes was transported out of the country by a Nepalese businessman. Shigatse Customs has imposed administrative penalties on the parties concerned in accordance with the law.
Reasons for selection
The Customs took the initiative based on intelligence and intercepted Raoguan's export of infringing goods under very difficult circumstances, which reflects the Customs' dedication to strict law enforcement and hard work, and deserves recognition.
Harbin Customs seized the case of counterfeit sports cotton clothing
Basic situation of the case
On January 10, 2005, Tongjiang Customs, a subsidiary of Harbin Customs, accepted a batch of imported goods Declaration of goods transported through customs. This batch of goods arrived at Tongjiang Customs a few days ago via customs transit imported container trucks, totaling 229 boxes. During the document review process, customs officers discovered that the goods were imported from South Korea to Dalian and then transferred to Tongjiang. This flow was very unreasonable and highly suspicious. They immediately issued a risk control order and notified the site to carry out key inspections.
In winter in the North, dripping water turns into ice, and the temperature is more than 30 degrees below zero. Customs inspectors, accompanied by supervisory warehouse staff and cargo owners, inspected 229 large and small cartons. Although the cargo owner was very cooperative with the customs work, he kept muttering in a low voice, "They are all daily necessities, nothing more." No abnormality was found in the first few cartons inspected by the customs. At this time, the owner of the cargo said with a smile, "It's such a cold day, just open a few more and have a look." At this time, the temperature in the supervision warehouse was very low. The inspection personnel's feet were already numb from the cold, and their hands were too cold to hold the pen. However, they still gritted their teeth and persisted, asking the cargo owners to open all the cartons. Finally, 170 sets of counterfeit sportswear with "NIKE" and "√" logos were found in the cartons that were later opened.
After investigation, the customs found that the goods were randomly purchased by a Korean in the market. Harbin Customs has made an administrative penalty decision on the parties concerned in accordance with the law.
Reasons for selection
It is a case seized by the customs using risk analysis methods;
In the harsh climate environment, the customs inspectors overcame difficulties and seized the mixed goods. Infringing goods among other goods are worth recommending.
Nanjing Customs seized a case of counterfeit goods being exported
Basic information of the case
On October 19, 2005, a Korean-owned enterprise declared to Zhangjiagang Customs, a subsidiary of Nanjing Customs Exported 100,000 fluorescent lamps, and the trading country was South Korea. After reviewing the customs declaration documents, the customs review personnel believed that the risk of intellectual property infringement of this batch of goods was relatively high, and decided to open the boxes for inspection.
After inspection, the customs found that in addition to a small number of fluorescent lamps placed near the door of the container, a large amount of shoes, clothing, bags and other goods were hidden in the box, totaling 324 boxes. , 13957 pieces.
20 internationally renowned trademarks, including ADIDAS, BOSS, COACH, CHANEL, NIKE, PUMA, THE NORTH FACE, PRADA, LOUIS VUITTON, HERMES, GUCCI, BURBERRY, MONTBLANC, DUNHILL, and BVLGARI, were used on the hidden goods, most of which It has been registered with the General Administration of Customs. Nanjing Customs notified the relevant trademark rights holders of the relevant circumstances and detained the relevant infringing goods based on the rights holders' applications. After investigation, Zhangjiagang Customs determined that the above-mentioned export goods were counterfeit goods. On December 19, it imposed administrative penalties on the parties concerned, confiscating the infringing goods and imposing fines in accordance with the law.
Reasons for selection
It is a case of foreign-funded enterprises exporting counterfeit goods;
Involving many trademark rights holders, the situation is complex and the case is difficult to handle.
Kunming Customs seized a case of exporting counterfeit goods through mutual trading between border residents
Basic situation of the case
At the end of 2004, a Laotian named Xu Moumou entrusted border residents of Mohan Town, Mengla County Yang Moumou declared to Mengla Customs to export a batch of women's handbags through border trade. After inspection by Mengla Customs, they found that the batch of goods not only included 4,400 pieces with "CHENNEL", "CD", "LV", "GUCCI", etc. There are 14 internationally renowned brands of handbags, wallets, hats, scarves, and clothing, as well as more than 13,000 watches with more than 40 world-renowned brands such as "ROLEX", "OMEGA", "PADO", and "CARTIER". The customs believed that this batch of goods was highly suspected of infringing on intellectual property rights, so it issued notices confirming the infringing goods to 12 rights holders who had registered with the General Administration of Customs. After the intellectual property right holder confirmed that the relevant goods were infringing goods, the customs detained the goods in accordance with the law and confiscated them after investigation. For the parts of the goods that were not registered with the General Administration of Customs, the Customs handed them over to the industrial and commercial department for processing.
Reasons for selection
Involving many trademark rights holders, the situation is complex and the case is difficult to handle;
The customs will hand over goods outside its jurisdiction to the industrial and commercial department for processing processing, providing an example of cooperation between customs and other law enforcement agencies.