China Customs can act against imports and exports that infringe China-protected trademarks, copyrights and related rights, or patents. A General Administration of Customs recordal gives customs officers a standing rights and product file that can support ex officio screening, but it does not create the IP right or guarantee detention.
Effective programs combine accurate recordals with genuine-versus-suspect product guides, current licensee and exporter data, rapid response contacts, and a budget for security and follow-on action. Recordal is especially useful where counterfeit goods move through identifiable ports; patent cases and technically complex products usually demand faster expert analysis.
Direct answer
Record relevant China-protected rights with GACC before a known shipping event, then keep the file operational. Submit ownership and rights details, licensing information, genuine-product and suspected-infringement intelligence, and Chinese translations where required. Train a response team to evaluate notices, post security, provide infringement analysis and coordinate disposition or litigation.
Do not record rights and forget them. Wrong factory lists, expired registrations, weak comparison images or an unreachable contact can delay legitimate shipments or cause an enforcement opportunity to be lost.
Rights Customs can protect
The customs regime covers exclusive trademark rights, copyright and related rights, and patent rights connected with import or export goods and protected under PRC law. A foreign registration alone is generally not the China right Customs enforces.
Confirm the right holder, validity and chain of title before filing. For copyright, prepare ownership evidence suitable for the work. For patents, identify the product features mapped to the claims and plan for rapid technical review. Trade secrets are not a recordable border right under this regime.
Recordal or transaction-specific application
The regulations provide both rights-holder applications for a specific suspected shipment and Customs action where officers discover suspected goods involving a recorded right. Advance recordal improves the information available for ex officio screening and creates a reusable border-watch file.
Transaction-specific action can remain important when the right is not recorded or when the rights holder has concrete shipment intelligence. The procedures, security and deadlines differ depending on how the case begins, so identify the route in the response plan.
What the recordal contains
GACC’s current online service asks for the right holder and right, licensing status, genuine goods and lawful traders, and known infringing goods and traders, with supporting materials. Foreign-language evidence needs a Chinese translation, and Customs may request notarized or authenticated material where necessary.
Build a practical product-identification pack:
- clear images of genuine goods, packaging, labels and codes;
- high-signal differences between genuine and suspect goods;
- product names, models, SKUs, origins, prices and routes;
- authorized manufacturers, licensees, importers and exporters;
- known counterfeiters, shippers and ports;
- searchable trademark, copyright or patent references; and
- a 24-hour contact and escalation path.
Avoid lengthy brand presentations that do not help an officer decide whether a shipment is suspicious.
Filing, validity and maintenance
GACC’s current service is available online and states no government fee. The authority has up to 30 working days after receiving complete application documents to decide a recordal. Build lead time for corrections and rights-holder or agency documentation.
A recordal is valid for 10 years, but it cannot extend beyond the underlying IP term. Renewal may be requested during the six months before expiry. Changes to filed information must generally be reported within 30 working days, and expired, transferred or surrendered rights require timely change or cancellation action.
Maintain a docket for right renewal, ownership changes, licences, authorized factories, contacts and product versions. Review the recordal after every major sourcing or distribution change.
When Customs finds suspected goods
Customs may notify the recorded rights holder after identifying suspected infringing goods. The response window can be short. The rights holder should verify the right and shipment, compare the goods, identify any authorized trade, give a reasoned infringement position, decide whether to request detention and arrange the required security.
Use a decision protocol rather than an automatic detention request. Check parallel imports, overrun allegations, OEM authorization, licence scope, exhaustion issues, repaired or refurbished goods and mistaken identity. A false positive can disrupt lawful trade and expose the rights holder to costs or claims.
Security and cost planning
Customs protection can require security to cover storage, custody and disposal costs and potential loss to the consignee or consignor if the application is improper. The amount and form depend on the procedural route and case.
Pre-arrange signatories, banking, guarantee capacity and counsel instructions. Include warehousing, testing, translation, travel and disposal costs in the enforcement budget. A rights holder unable to respond or secure action quickly may lose the practical value of the watch.
Trademark, copyright and patent differences
Clear counterfeit trademark cases are often the most suitable for border screening because officers can compare marks, goods and packaging. Copyright can work well for identifiable artwork, software carriers or product designs where ownership and copying evidence are prepared.
Patent cases are more demanding. Claim construction, technical testing and non-infringement arguments may not fit a rapid port decision. Record only after designing an expert-response process and considering whether a court preservation or infringement action is needed.
Authorized trade and OEM controls
Keep an accurate list of licensees, factories, exporters and distributors. Identify whether each party may manufacture, apply the mark, export, sell into specified markets or use particular ports. Do not assume a manufacturing licence automatically includes export rights.
Contract terms should require shipment data, subcontractor approval, segregation, destruction of excess labels, inventory reconciliation and cooperation with Customs. Update GACC promptly when an authorization begins, changes or ends.
After detention
Detention is not the end of the case. Customs may investigate and determine infringement within its authority, while some cases require the rights holder to commence judicial proceedings or obtain court measures within the applicable period. Coordinate the customs file with civil, administrative and criminal strategy.
Preserve samples, photographs, declarations, shipping records and party identities. Decide whether the matter supports a factory investigation, platform action, civil claim or criminal referral. Control settlement communications so they do not undermine Customs or court proceedings.
Border-enforcement checklist
- Verify each China-protected right and owner.
- Select commercially relevant rights, goods and ports.
- Prepare concise genuine-versus-suspect guides.
- List all authorized factories and traders accurately.
- File the GACC recordal with required translations.
- Docket expiry, renewal and 30-working-day changes.
- Establish notice, expert and security response teams.
- Screen every alert for lawful trade and false positives.
- Preserve evidence and choose follow-on proceedings.
- Review seizures and refresh the intelligence file.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a foreign trademark registration is sufficient.
- Recording too many low-value rights without usable product intelligence.
- Omitting licensees or authorized OEM exporters.
- Missing a notice because the recorded contact is stale.
- Treating patent analysis like a logo comparison.
- Failing to budget for security, storage and disposal.
- Assuming detention automatically proves infringement.
- Leaving transferred or expired rights on the record.
Sources
- Regulations on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, State Council, amended through 2018 and republished by GACC in 2025.
- GACC IP customs-protection recordal service guide, current online procedure checked 9 September 2026.
General legal information only; not legal advice for a particular right, shipment, detention or enforcement strategy.
