BIZCHINA / Intellectual property

Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Customs Protection of IPRs (2003)

Updated: 2006-04-20 10:02

Article 25.   Where Customs detain the suspected goods according to these Regulations, the right owner shall pay the fees of storage, custody and disposal, etc. of the goods. Where the right owner does not pay the relevant fees, Customs may deduct them directly from the guarantee submitted by the right owner or ask the guarantors to fulfill their guaranty obligation.

Where the detained goods are confirmed to infringe intellectual property right, the right owner may add the fees above to the reasonable expense incurred to stop infringing acts.

Article 26.   Where Customs find cases suspected to commit crimes when they take actions to protect intellectual property rights, they shall transfer these cases to the public security authority.

Chapter IV   Legal Liability

Article 27.   Where the detained goods are confirmed as infringing goods after Customs investigation, the Customs shall confiscate the goods.

Customs shall notify the relevant circumstances of the infringing goods to the right owner in writing after confiscation.

Where the infringing goods can be used for charitable purpose, Customs shall transfer them to the charitable organizations; where the right owner has the willing to purchase the infringing goods, Customs may sell the goods to them; where the infringing goods can not be used for charitable purpose and the right owner does not intend to purchase the goods, Customs may auction off the goods after removing the infringing features from the goods; where it is not feasible to remove the infringing features, Customs shall destroy the infringing goods.

Article 28.   Where the articles carried or posted in or out the border by an individual are beyond the personal use and the reasonable quantity and have infringed the intellectual property right defined in Article 2 of these Regulations, Customs shall confiscate the articles.

Article 29.   After Customs accept a application for recordal of intellectual property right and a request to take actions to protect his intellectual property right, where Customs can not find the infringing goods, adopt protective measures in a timely manner nor the protective measures adopted are not sufficiently strong, because the right owner failed to provide precise information, the right owner shall undertake the consequence by himself.

After the right owner requests Customs to detain the suspected goods, where the Customs can not confirm that the detained goods have infringed the intellectual property rights of the right owner or the People's Court make a judgment that the goods have not infringed the intellectual property right of the right owner, the right owner shall undertake the compensation responsibility in accordance with law.

Article 30.   Where anyone import or export goods that have infringed intellectual property right, which constitutes a crime, he shall be prosecuted for his criminal liability in accordance with law.

Article 31.   When taking actions to protect intellectual property rights, any functionary of Customs abuses his power, or engages in malpractice for personal gain, which constitutes a crime, shall be prosecuted for his criminal liability in accordance with law. Where the case is not so serious to constitute a crime, he shall be given disciplinary sanction in accordance with law.

Chapter V   Supplementary Provisions

Article 32.   Where the right owner applies for a recordal of intellectual property rights with the CGA, he shall pay the recordal fee according the relevant regulations.

Article 33.   These Regulations shall enter into force on March 1, 2004. The Regulations on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights of the People's Republic of China promulgated by the State Council on July 5, 1995 shall be abrogated at the same day.

 


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