Case No.1: Shanghai Customs seized fake gasoline-powered generator sets under the "tiger" trademark

1. Case information

On August 26, 2010, Shanghai Customs had a consignment of gasoline-powered generator sets to be exported by the Shanghai Sietong Group under surveillance according to the information provided by the right holder. On August 27, the Customs House of Waigaoqiao Port in Shanghai investigated the goods under export declaration made by the Shanghai Sietong Group, and found that the said consignment of goods were labeled with the trademark of "tiger" and at a value of about RMB500,000. Meanwhile, when Shanghai Customs learnt that the said consignment of goods came from Shanghai Liqiubo Industry Co., Ltd. and the production inventories of two manufacturers in Taizhou and there may be extra goods stored in the warehouse, the Customs set risk parameters in the H2000 Clearance System to pay special attention to the monitoring over the goods to be exported by Shanghai Liqiubo Industry Co., Ltd..

On December 13, Shanghai Customs inspected another consignment of goods exported to Nigeria by Shanghai Liqiubo Industry Co., Ltd. according to the risk warning, and seized 1,600 infringing gasoline-powered generator sets labeled with the trademark of "tiger", which were worth about RMB595,800.

As the above-mentioned goods involved enormous quantity and value, after investigation and acquisition of relevant evidence, the Customs notified the cases to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau pursuant to relevant provisions. At present, the police have filed and investigated the aforesaid two cases.

2. Recommendation reasons

(1). The case is one of the typical cases concerning infringement of the intellectual property rights (hereinafter called “IP rights” or “IPR”) held by domestic enterprises, which was investigated and handled after Shanghai Customs and holders of domestic independent IP rights have increased cooperation and efforts in protection of independent IP rights. In this Case, Shanghai Customs and the right holder communicated with each other timely, performed their respective roles, worked together, and eventually stopped the export of the consignment of infringing goods. In 2010, Shanghai Customs discovered 40 cases of infringement on domestic independent IP rights in total, which involved nearly 3,838,600 commodities worth about RMB 8 million.

(2). The Customs actively use risk analysis tools to constantly improve the ability to judge, investigate and handle IP cases. During investigation into the aforesaid first case, the Customs paid attention to collecting and evaluating relevant risk information, summarizing high-risk parameters and releasing them on the risk management platform. After 4 months, they successfully seized another consignment of infringing gasoline-powered generator sets to be exported by the illegal enterprise, showing that the Customs achieved close supervision by using high-tech and intelligent management. Meanwhile, the Customs’ careful investigation also provided first-hand information for the public security organ to identify suspect criminal acts of the party concerned.

(3). This Case is typical as it shows that the Customs has worked on the establishment of a new model for closer cooperation with the public security organs, better combined the administrative law enforcement and the criminal law enforcement, and cracked down on the suspect criminal acts of infringing IP rights arising in import and export faster, more accurately, and more ruthlessly. During the investigation of this Case, the Customs conducted real-time contact with the municipal public security organ, and the latter intervened into this Case early, which effectively reduced the time to start the criminal case procedure. The public security organ filed and investigated the case within less than a month after the case notification, and the new model for cooperation bore fruit.

Case No.2: Hangzhou Customs seized counterfeit tracksuits under the trademarks of "NIKE" and "ADIDAS"

1. Case information

On June 29, 2010, a trading company in Yunnan Province declared to Yiwu Customs subordinated to Hangzhou Customs for export of small commodities including blouses, men's shorts and hats made of synthetic fabrics to Pakistan. According to the risk warning in the risk parameter database of infringement, customs officers thought the goods were of high risk of infringement and gave the order of having the goods under surveillance. Upon inspection, they found in the compressed packages at the middle and rear part of the container 8,580 pieces of tracksuits, sport shorts and T-shirts in total under the suspicion of infringing the exclusive rights to use the trademarks "NIKE" and "ADIDAS".

After detaining the suspect infringing goods and filing the case for investigation in accordance with the law, the law enforcement officers of Yiwu Customs realized the complexity of the case according to their rich experience. From the only clue of the brokerage firm, Yiwu Customs found the forwarder, and then a company engaging in foreign trade agency in Yiwu, and learnt that the consignment of goods came from a foreigner named Asmatullah who worked as a foreign trade agent in Yiwu. The investigators found the agent Asmatullah with some efforts. Under their rigorous, patient, and solemn law enforcement, Asmatullah finally said that the real owner of the consignment of goods was Naimatullah who was also a foreigner, and provided relevant information on Naimatullah who hid in other place of the country at that time.

Considering the large amount involved in the case, the suspect criminal acts, and the possibility of Naimatullah's departure from China at any time, Hangzhou Customs contacted the Economic Crime Investigation Office of the Zhejiang Provincial Public Security Department timely, and meanwhile Yiwu Customs notified the the Yiwu Police Bureau of the discovered clues of the case. Under the coordination and deployment of Hangzhou Customs and the Zhejiang Provincial Public Security Department, the Yiwu Police Bureau made early intervention and captured Naimatullah on July 23 with the help of Yiwu Customs. On the same day, Jinhua Police Bureau formally started investigation into the case and imposed criminal detention on Naimatullah. On August 27, the Jinhua People's Procuratorate officially approved the arrest of Naimatullah. On January 17, 2011, the Jinhua People's Intermediate Court made the first-instance judgment, according to which Naimatullah was sentenced to seven months in prison and fined RMB10,000 Yuan only.

2. Recommendation reasons

(1). The case is an example showing the close collaboration between the administrative law enforcement and the criminal justice. Hangzhou Customs has always attached great importance to and established a long-term mechanism of communication and cooperation with the Zhejiang Provincial Public Security Department, to ensure effective combination of the administrative law enforcement and the criminal justice related to IPR protection. The successful investigation into and disposal of the case shows the effectiveness of the said mechanism. The case has addressed the gap that Hangzhou Customs notify and transfer the clues of IPR infringement to the criminal justice and foreign nationals are convicted and sentenced for criminal acts, providing valuable experience for investigation and handling concerning similar cases in the future.

(2). This case have positive effects on combating the infringement acts of foreigners who know the products are faked but still purchase them for export in the Yiwu Small-commodity Export Market. During the course of investigation and handling, the IP case investigators of Yiwu Customs exerted great efforts to discover the source despite all the difficulties by virtue of their enforcement expertise and strong sense of responsibility, and finally assisted the local police in capturing the foreign criminal. The case has caused considerable responses among the foreign purchasers in Yiwu, effectively deterred law breakers, and maintained the order of import and export of small commodities.

(3). This case was successfully settled, which establishes a good image of the Customs in enforcing IPR protection. It is another case of IPR infringement solved by the Customs system in which a foreign national was convicted and sentenced. As the relevant criminal judgment was made just at the time when the Customs was further waging the Special Campaign against IPR Infringements and Production and Sales of Counterfeited and Forged Commodities throughout the country, this case is of positive meaning for the Customs to achieve better effects in their special campaign and IPR protection enforcement.

Case No.3: Ningbo Customs seized infringing goods including LV handbags to be exported by Qingdao Lisiqi Trading Co., Ltd.

1. Case information

On April 25, 2010, Qingdao Lisiqi Trading Co., Ltd. declared to Ningbo Customs for export of a consignment of goods including hats, scarves, socks, and belts, from Yiwu to Greece. When verifying the documents related to the goods, the customs officers thought the declaration form is exposed to the following risks: first, the source of supply was Yiwu, and hats, scarves, socks and belts are within the categories of products often under infringement at Ningbo Port; second, Qingdao Lisiqi Trading Co., Ltd. was under suspicion of being a shell company; and third, Greece was one of the destinations into which infringing goods flow under major concern by Ningbo Customs. Therefore, the customs officers instructed to have the said goods under surveillance and required to inspect the IPR status of the said goods. Upon inspection, the Customs seized 1,000 "Adidas" hats in 2 boxes, 1,000 hats in "GA and the graphics" in 2 boxes, 1,000 hats in "LACOSTE and crocodile (the graphics) in 2 boxes, 12,350 handbags in 247 boxes and 11,400 purses in 57 boxes in "LV and the graphics", 2,000 hats in "NIKE and the hook mark" in 4 boxes, 2,000 hats in "PUMA and the graphics" in 4 boxes, 750 "TOUS" handbags in 15 boxes, and one box of 200 "Chanel (logo)" purses. After contacting the right holders for confirmation, the Customs identified the aforesaid goods as infringing commodities.

As the suspect infringing goods detained in this case involved large quantity, high value and multiple brands, Ningbo Customs paid great attention to this case. While putting more efforts into the investigation, they notified the case to the Zhejiang Provincial Public Security Department on September 19, 2010 in accordance with the Interim Provisions of the Ministry of Public Security and the General Administration of Customs on Strengthening the Cooperation in Intellectual Property Law Enforcement. Zhejiang Provincial Public Security Department submitted the case clues to the Ministry of Public Security, and the latter transferred the said clues to Shandong Provincial Public Security Department, and finally, Qingdao Public Security Bureau started the investigation on the case regarding the sales of fake commodities under registered trademarks by Qingdao Lisiqi Trading Co., Ltd. on November 18. Ningbo Customs actively cooperated with the public security organs in investigation and evidence collection, and provided the materials such as the declaration documents relevant to the case and handed over all the goods involved to the Qingdao Public Security Bureau on November 24. Qingdao Public Security Bureau captured 14 suspects based on the case clues provided by Ningbo Customs, and the value involved in this case reached RMB 230 million.

2. Recommendation reasons

(1). The case has shown the strong awareness and responsibility of customs law enforcement officers in respect of IPR protection. The seizure of inbound and outbound goods infringing IP rights by the Customs depends mainly on the risk analysis made by the relevant officers. To evaluate the risk, discover the doubtful points, conduct the surveillance, and implement the inspection, requires the accumulation of experience of  law enforcement officers in IPR protection through a long time. The successful settlement of this case should be attributed to Ningbo Customs' great concern about IPR protection and the efforts of the front-line law enforcement officers.

(2). The handling of this case is of great difficulty. The goods in this case involved 8 IP rights including "LV", "Adidas", and "NIKE". The Customs had to confirm the rights with 8 right holders in a very short time, which brought more trouble to solve the case.

(3). This case set a successful model for cooperation in law enforcement between the Customs and the public security organs. Ningbo Customs stressed on the cooperation in law enforcement with the public security organs, informed the latter of the case clues in accordance with the law, provided assistance in investigation and evidence collection, and communicated with the latter on issues arising in the enforcement. In this case, Ningbo Customs cooperated closely with Qingdao Public Security Bureau in the investigation and evidence collection, and provided the latter with detailed case information and contact information on the parties concerned, which ensured the capture of 14 suspects by the police. In terms of the value, the number of suspects captured and the influence, this case was indeed a bid success achieved under the cooperation between the Customs and the public security organs.

Case No.4: Xiamen Customs seized infringing cigarettes to be exported through freight channels

1. Case information

On the afternoon of November 6, 2010, Saturday, Shenzhen Lihongbei Trading Co., Ltd. declared to the Haicang Office of Xiamen Customs for export of a consignment of 260,500 CD/ DVD cases in total to France in the mode of ordinary trade. It was in the busy hours for overtime work of the office. The declarant said the goods need to be loaded onto the ship in a very short time and repeatedly asked for completion of the formalities as soon as possible, and this alerted the customs officers at the site. Upon careful verification of the documents, the relevant officers found the goods in the declaration form were not commonly seen at Haicang Port, and there were doubtful points in relevant materials according to their logic analysis. So they decided to have the goods under surveillance. During the inspection, the officers found the goods in the container were put in cartons and there was no abnormal sign. However, when they opened the cartons, they found the goods were cigarettes with the logo of "MARLBORO". Upon checking, there were 9,713,400 pieces of cigarettes in the container with a value of RMB 6.21 million. On November 17, Philip Morris Product Co. Ltd., the right holder of the trademark "Marlboro", sent a letter to the Customs confirming that the said consignment of goods were infringing products, and applied for adoption of IPR protection measures.

The case drew much attention from Xiamen Customs, which summarized the experience promptly, analyzed the risk factors in this case, studied carefully the flow of exported infringing cigarettes, tracked down the clues, and closely cooperated with the Xiamen Public Security Bureau and the Municipal Tobacco Monopoly Bureau to strengthen the surveillance and inspection. On December 7, only a month later, the Customs seized another consignment of infringing cigarettes with the logos of “KENT” and “L&M” declared for export by Xiamen Wolun Import & Export Co., Ltd. at Haicang Port according to risk analysis. There were 4.55 million pieces of infringing cigarettes worth about RMB 4.01 million. This consignment of cigarettes were declared for export to Greece under the product name of folding chair, and hidden inside 650 storage boxes skillfully, and could not be found without tearing the PU surfaces. In order to pass customs inspection smoothly, criminals even put 130 normal storage boxes at the entry of the container as distraction. However, their tricks didn’t work as the customs officers had sharpening eyes.

In the aforesaid two cases, 14,263,400 million pieces of cigarettes in total at the value of about RMB 10.22 million were seized. Currently, the Customs has transferred the two cases to the police.

2. Recommendation reasons

(1). The aforesaid two cases were unveiled when the Customs was further waging the Special Campaign against IPR Infringements and Production and Sales of Counterfeited and Forged Commodities nationwide. Xiamen Customs took the opportunity to vigorously carry out the publicity activities. State and local media including the CCTV, People’s Daily, Legal Daily, Guangming Daily, and Fujian TV Station reported the cases, which showed the good results of the special campaign and set up a good image of China in IPR protection.

(2). The seizure of the infringing goods in the cases deterred law breakers much, and restrained the spread of export of infringing cigarettes. The case that Shenzhen Lihongbei Trading Co., Ltd. intended to export infringing cigarettes has been the infringement case involving the largest quantity of goods with highest value by Xiamen Customs in recent years, and listed as a case under national supervision over handling.

(3). The serial cases were typical as the customs enforcement officers succeeded in seizure of the infringing goods by means of risk analysis. The enforcement officers, on strength of their rich experience, captured the doubtful points through slight signs, saw through various types of concealment, and finally discovered the infringing goods, which showed their high level of IPR law enforcement competence.

(4). Xiamen Customs gave full play to the mechanism of cooperation and coordination between the Customs and law enforcement departments such as public security organs and tobacco administrative authorities. They led in the cooperation, explored the clues, took actions voluntarily, and discovered the cases of tobacco infringement in succession, which reflected their high sense of responsibility and devotion to their work.

Case No.5: Qingdao Customs seized the clothing infringing the trademark of NIKE

1. Case information

On September 30, 2010, Weifang Shute International Trade Co., Ltd. (Weifang Shute Company) declared for export to Japan 5,600 hats and 2,788 suits of men’s fiber woven sportswear with a total value of USD 56,628.

The Customs thought the consignment of goods might have high risk of IPR infringement according risk analysis, and then ordered to have the goods under surveillance. Upon receipt of the order, Weifang Shute Company refused to cooperate with the Customs in the inspection with various excuses, attempting to avoid customs supervision through applying for cancellation of the customs declaration. The Customs urged Weifang Shute Company to accept the inspection for several times, and inspected the consignment of goods on November 1, finding the said consignment of goods with the logo of “NIKE and the hook mark”. The goods were under suspicion of infringing the exclusive right to use the trademark registered by Nike International Ltd. with the General Administration of Customs. Upon confirmation of the right holder, such consignment of goods was infringing goods.

In order to prosecute the criminals for their legal liabilities, Qingdao Customs notified the Qingdao Public Security Bureau of the case clues during the course of checking all the goods and invited the police to intervene early. On December 30, Huangdao Office of Qingdao Public Security Bureau started to investigate this case.

The police of Qingdao traced the source based on the case clues provided by the Customs, captured by one action all the 6 suspects including 3 Korean nationals involved in the criminal network of production, sales and declaration for export for infringing the “NIKE” trademark and products, and seized 2,376 T-shirts, 6,786 sport shorts, 15,522 suits of tracksuits, 35,664 knitted hats, and 2,154 jackets with fake trademark “NIKE”, over 120,000 pieces of fake “NIKE” trademark logos, 4 printing plates to print fake “NIKE” trademark logo, and a set of manufacturing equipment including the computer. Meanwhile, it was found that the criminal gang had 7 consignments of counterfeit “NIKE” clothes at the value of over RMB 2 million to be exported.

2. Recommendation reasons

(1). Qingdao Customs has carried out the Special Campaign against IPR Infringements and Production and Sales of Counterfeited and Forged Commodities deployed by the State Council and the General Administration of Customs (hereinafter called the “Special Campaign”) with their specific moves. Since the launch of the Special Campaign and by February 2011, Qingdao Customs had taken IPR protection measures in 593 cases, which involved the IP rights of 93 IP right holders in 18 countries (regions), 1.17 million pieces of goods in total at the value of RMB11.34 million, and well-known brands including NIKE, TOYOTA, and Phoenix. The Customs reported the clues of 5 cases to the police and obtained good results.

(2). This case is also typical as it showed the cooperation in law enforcement between the Customs and the police as well as the linkage between customs enforcement and criminal enforcement. Qingdao Customs assisted the police in the capture of the 6 suspects including 3 Korean nationals involved in the criminal network of production, sales and declaration for export for infringing the “NIKE” trademark and products, and successfully defeated the transnational criminal gang engaging in IPR infringement. This case was successfully solved, which helped avoid fake goods flowing into the international market and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of the right holders, and highlighted the close cooperation between the police and the Customs, combining the administrative enforcement and criminal justice, and increasing the judicial punishments. The deterrent power of customs enforcement relevant to IPR protection was enhanced significantly.

(3). This case received much attention from the leaders of the General Office of the State Council as it was very typical. The General Administration of Customs sent a congratulatory message to show congratulations on Qingdao Customs for the successful solution to this case. The leading groups of the Special Campaign against IPR infringement and production and sales of counterfeit and forged products at the state level and in Shandong Province and Qingdao published special bulletins. Several media such as the Legal Daily reported the case, which expanded the impacts of the case. This case produced positive enforcement and social effects.

(4). This case was unveiled by Qingdao Customs on their own initiative to take controlling measures against risks to protect internationally well-known brands. The Customs strengthened their risk prevention and control, actively conducted risk analysis, highlighted the key points under inspection, so as to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of the surveillance and constantly strengthen the IPR protection. Through comprehensive analysis and survey on the data for infringement cases found in the Customs districts under Qingdao Customs in recent years, Qingdao Customs successfully seized the knitted hats, tracksuits and other sportswear with the fake trademark of “NIKE and the hook mark” to be exported, achieving significant results.

Case No.6: Guangzhou Customs seized the clothing to be exported that infringed on “GUCCI” and other trademarks

1. Case information

On March 5, 2010, a clothing company in Guangzhou declared to the Fanyu Customs subordinated to Guangzhou Customs for export of 20,856 pairs of cotton men’s trousers to Hong Kong. As this consignment of goods used the trademark of “GUCCI”, the declarant of the said company submitted at the time of declaration to the Customs the authorization certificate for use of the trademark provided by its Hong Kong customer.

Based on the risk warning issued by functional departments, the customs officers responsible for verifying the declaration form thought there were some doubtful points as to this consignment of goods: first, the goods exported by the said company in the past were usually in various brands and low- and medium-grade products, while the goods declared for export this time were in internationally well-known brand of luxury, which formed a huge difference with its production orientation in the past; second, the unit price for the goods under declaration was comparatively low, which was not in compliance with the brand recognition. Considering all the above factors, the relevant officers decided to inspect the consignment of goods.

Upon inspection, it was found that the consignment of trousers were not only in the trademark of “GUCCI”, but also several other world famous brands such as “D&G” and “LV”. Thus, this consignment of goods was suspended from customs clearance and the relevant information was notified to the relevant right holders of those brands. Upon confirmation by the right holders, this consignment of goods was infringing products which used registered trademarks without authorization. Guangzhou Customs detained the said goods in accordance with the law. After investigation, this consignment of goods was produced by the party concerned pursuant to the order placed by a Hong Kong company. Although the party concerned had requested the customer to provide the relevant authorization document for order placement, it did not verify the authenticity of the document. Finally, Guangzhou Customs decided to confiscate the said infringing goods and impose a fine on the party concerned.

2. Recommendation reasons

(1). This case showed the results of customs using risk analysis to implement IPR protection and the front-line customs officers’ strong awareness of IPR protection. Guangzhou Customs sorted out the past cases logically, conducted risk analysis and extracted the high risk factors of infringement regularly based on the characteristics of logistics of each port, issued the warnings and reminders to the front-line of customs supervision timely, and instructed officers to conduct onsite inspection. In this case, although the company provided the authorization, the front-line officers possessed high level of awareness of IPR protection, made good use of the warnings issued by the functional departments, and accurately analyzed and identified the risk factors including transport route, commodity, enterprise, and declaration traits. The law departments carefully examined the materials submitted by the field personnel, were sensitive to doubtful points and found them by slight signs. This case was a model that the law enforcement units at two levels seized major infringing commodities successfully by using the technology of risk analysis accurately.

(2). This case was typical to some extent as it disclosed the causes of infringement trade. In this case, although the company involved was the manufacturer of the infringing clothes, the order was placed by an overseas enterprise, and it had requested the authorization for legal use of the trademarks from the commissioning party. Therefore, the overseas enterprise should assume the major responsibilities of infringement, and it was unfair to blame the manufacture for all the responsibility for infringement. This case is of typical meaning. Currently, the saying “China is the major source of infringing products in the world” is very popular. This case has shown the complexity in causes of infringement, fully explaining that the voluntary demands of infringing products by importers outside China are an important cause for the international infringement trade despite repeated prohibitions.

Case No.7: Shenzhen Customs seized the game controllers infringing the trademarks including “PlayStation”

1. Case information

On November 18, 2010, a company in Shenzhen entrusted a customer broker in the same city to declare for export of a consignment of accessories to game consoles to the Dapeng Customs subordinated to Shenzhen Customs in the mode of ordinary trade, and the country of destination is Panama. According to risk analysis, the Customs thought there were doubts as follows: first, the commodity under declaration for export fell into the category of commodities with high risk of infringement and the price was abnormally low; second, the destination was a country where infringement activities frequently occur; and third, the aforementioned company had the record of illegally exporting infringing goods. Therefore, the enforcement officers judged that this consignment of goods had some suspect of infringement, made the order of having the goods under surveillance, and required the inspection department to open and inspect the containers. Upon inspection, the Customs found 24,250 game controllers with the trademark of “PlayStation” and “Dual Shock” among the goods to be exported. After confirmation by the right holder Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., the aforementioned game controllers infringed on the exclusive right to use the relevant trademarks it has registered with the General Administration of Customs.

Shenzhen Customs detained the consignment of goods and promptly notified the local police of the case clues. Currently, the police have started to investigate the case.

2. Recommendation reasons

(1). This case is typical as it was found through risk analysis.

(2). This case has shown the coordination and cooperation between the Customs and the police as well as the linkage between customs enforcement and criminal enforcement. Shenzhen Customs highly valued the cooperation with the local police, notify the police of the clues of major infringement cases, and actively assisted the police in collecting documents and materials, providing enterprise import and export records, and gathering other relevant evidence, realizing the effective linkage between the Customs’ administrative enforcement and the criminal enforcement.

Case No.8: Gongbei Customs seized fruit tea containers with the logo of Shanghai Expo 2010 for import

1. Case information

On April 23, 2010, an import and export limited company in Zhongshan City declared to the Shenwan Office of Zhongshan Customs subordinated to Gongbei Customs for import of 2,400 boxes of “chamomile tea/tea bags and strawberry tea/tea bags” at a declared value of USD 7,896 (equivalent to RMB 53,901.29). When verifying the documents for this consignment of goods, the customs officers found there were words such as “EXPO” and “Expo Herbal Tea Gift Package” specified in the invoice provided by the Taiwan supplier, and decided to conduct through inspection on this consignment of goods.

Upon inspection, the Customs found that the labels on the external package of the tea and the bottles were printed with the words of “Shanghai Expo 2010”, the emblem, and the slogan, which was under suspicion of infringing the exclusive right to use the signs of world expo registered by the Coordination Bureau of Shanghai World Expo with the General Administration of Customs. On April 29, 2010, the Coordination Bureau of Shanghai World Expo confirmed with the Customs that the aforesaid consignment of goods infringed on the exclusive right to use the signs of world expo it registered with the General Administration of Customs.

Currently, the Customs has decided to confiscate the aforesaid goods and fine the party concerned.

2. Recommendation reasons

(1). This case involved the infringement of the signs of world expo and was unveiled by Gongbei Customs in 2010. It shows that the Customs has practically worked on protection of the exclusive right to use the signs of Shanghai Expo 2010, and made efforts to create good external conditions for the success of such an international event.

(2). This case fully reflects the awareness of front-line customs officers in IPR protection.

Case No.9: Huangpu Customs seized fake light industrial products under 11 trademarks including “NIVEA” and “MONTBLANC” to be exported

1. Case information

In July 2010, the Regulation Division of Huangpu Customs was informed by the IPR right holder that a consignment of fake daily chemical products would be exported from Laogang Customs subordinated to Huangpu Customs. On July 20, Laogang Customs conducted monitoring according to the risk analysis, and inspected the containers declared for export to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam by Jinhui Trading Co., Ltd. of Mingxi County. They found 164,000 pieces of infringing goods under 11 fake brands, including 106,000 pieces of fake lipsticks with the trade mark of “NIVEA” and 1,730 pieces of bags and cases infringing the exclusive right to use the trademark of “MONTBLANC”.

After checking the suspect infringing goods, Huangpu Customs promptly notified the right holders to confirm the infringement status, and timely reported the case to the Economic Crime Investigation Brigade of Guangzhou Public Security Bureau for disposal.

2. Recommendation reasons

During the course of handling this case, Huangpu Customs made full use of the information provided by the right holder, conducted risk analysis and warning actively, and successfully seized personal care products involved in 7 cases via the freight channels in succession. Based on this case, they took the initiative to organize and carry out the IPR law enforcement campaign against the cross-border sales of fake products along the southeast Asia lines. According to statistics, through the aforesaid campaign, Huangpu Customs seized 22 consignments of infringing goods, and detained 1.66 million pieces of counterfeit light industrial products in total, and the value of the goods amounted to over RMB4 million.

Case No.10: Beijing Customs seized infringing auto parts for import

1. Case information

On July 4, 2010, Beijing Subang Risheng International Trade Co., Ltd. commissioned Beijing Time Ruifeng Import and Export Service Co., Ltd. to declare to the Chaoyang Office of Beijing Customs for import of a consignment of auto parts transferred from Tianjin Port to Beijing. As auto parts are commodities with high risk, the Risk Management Section of the Chaoyang Office, Beijing Customs, based on pre-determined risk monotoring, opened the containers and inspected the consignment of goods declared as auto parts. Upon inspection, they found that this consignment of goods were 482 pieces of auto parts marked with the logo of “Nissan”, including bumpers, pistons, hubs, absorbers, brake discs, fuel pumps, valves, heat radiator for the water tank, thermostats, antenna, hood support assembly, window lift control, water pumps and fenders, at a declared value of USD 20,018.50, and the place of origin declared was Japan. During the inspection, the Customs found this consignment of goods is of low quality and has shoddy package materials with labels printed thereon irregular and incorrect, and was under great suspicion of infringement. Therefore, the Customs notified the right holder Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. for confirmation.

On July 26, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. submitted the application for IPR customs protection to Beijing Customs, holding that the said consignment of auto parts were infringing goods. Currently, Beijing Customs has detained the said consignment of goods, and investigated other illegal acts involved in this case.

2. Recommendation reasons

(1). Successful seizure of a large consignment of infringing commodities at the import procedures. Most of the IPR cases discovered by Beijing Customs in the past occurred at the export procedures, while only a few involved imports. This case was discovered during import and involved a high value, expressly indicating that China is also a victim of imported infringing products. Therefore, for cracking down on the supply chains of international trade for infringing commodities, cooperation and assistance between international Customs shall be strengthened to promote the healthy and orderly development of international trade.

(2). Proficiency in the risk analysis and monitoring technology. Beijing Customs applied risk monitoring to the investigation and handling of daily IPR cases, customs officers at the site evaluated and analyzed the information with high risk including the place of origin of the commodity, declared product name, declared price, trade nation, and the operator, and summarized feasible and effective experience in risk monitoring based on the features of the work at Beijing Customs. This case is also one of the cases investigated and disposed of during the implementation of the special inspection campaign against fake auto parts by the Customs. The success in setting pre-determined monitoring over auto parts has fully shown that the Customs has mastered and well employed the risk analysis and monitoring technology.

(3). Infringing auto parts will cause serious danger to personal life. In this case, the right holder found upon appraisal that the consignment of auto parts was made with low craftsmanship and poor quality, and could not meet the basic driving needs of cars. If such infringing auto parts had flowed into the domestic market, the life safety of domestic consumers would be severely endangered, and it would be difficult to estimate the bad consequence arising therefrom. The seizure of the goods involved in this case shows that Beijing Customs has performed the functions of IPR customs protection conscientiously in their routine work with the attitude of being responsible for the sound development of the national capital’s economy and the safety of people’s lives.