Chinese customs seizes 7m items in first half of 2018
Chinese customs has seized 7.1 million items suspected of IP infringement in the first half of 2018, according to new data shared by China’s official news agency Xinhua yesterday.
The data, from China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), showed that most of the items (6.9 million) were suspected of infringing trademarks.
Xinhua noted that China’s customs worked closely with its Russian counterparts between March and June to tackle IP infringements related to the FIFA World Cup 2018, which took place between June 14 and July 15 in Russia.
The data showed that more than 500,000 items related to the football tournament were seized by the two countries’ customs authorities.
Zhang Guangzhi, spokesperson of the GAC, reportedly said that Chinese customs will continue to crack down on IP infringements. Guangzhi added that China will impose harsher punishments on enterprises which violate the country’s IP law.
The GAC’s data showed that nearly 3,000 (2,796) applications for customs IP protection in China were approved in the first half of this year, and approximately 4.8 million seized items were involved in IP infringement proceedings involving Chinese enterprises.
Xinhua yesterday claimed that the volume of seizures shows the country’s commitment to stepping up IP protection.
The data’s release comes shortly after the US said it will impose additional tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports in response to “abusive practices with regard to IP”.
In a White Paper about China’s relationship with the World Trade Organization (WTO) released last month, China said it “effectively” protects IP rights. Since acceding to the WTO in 2001, China has strengthened its IP protection and administrative law enforcement, the document added.
The release of the White Paper followed a filing by the EU at the WTO alleging that China is in breach of the TRIPS Agreement and other legal agreements covering IP. The filing accused China of discriminating against foreign IP owners and restricting their ability to protect IP in China.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.
Today's top stories
EUIPO told to re-examine Nestlé's trademark
Retired professor drives Lyft to court for patent infringement
Already registered?
Login to your account
If you don't have a login or your access has expired, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content.
For more information on individual annual subscriptions for full paid access and corporate subscription options please contact us.
To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk