Ordinary trademark infringement is a civil dispute and will not send you to prison; but counterfeiting registered trademarks to a serious degree constitutes a crime, for which criminal liability is pursued under the Criminal Law and Article 67 of the Trademark Law, punishable by up to ten years' imprisonment.
The Three Criminal Offenses
- Crime of counterfeiting registered trademarks (Criminal Law Article 213): using a trademark identical to a registered trademark on identical goods or services without permission, where serious—up to three years' fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention, with or without a fine; where especially serious—three to ten years' fixed-term imprisonment and a fine;
- Crime of selling goods bearing counterfeit registered trademarks (Article 214): selling goods known to bear counterfeit registered trademarks, where the illegal gains are relatively large or other serious circumstances exist—punished in the same two tiers;
- Crime of illegally manufacturing or selling illegally manufactured registered trademark labels (Article 215): forging or manufacturing another's registered trademark labels without authorization, or selling such labels, where serious.
Thresholds for Criminal Liability
Under relevant judicial interpretations, common thresholds include: for counterfeiting registered trademarks, an illegal business volume of RMB 50,000 or more or illegal gains of RMB 30,000 or more; where two or more registered trademarks are counterfeited, an illegal business volume of RMB 30,000 or more. For selling counterfeit goods, sales of RMB 50,000 or more constitutes the offense. Specific standards are subject to the current judicial interpretations.
Interface Between Civil and Criminal
Where a market regulation authority finds suspected crime during enforcement, it transfers the case to the public security authorities under Article 67; the rights holder may also report directly. A concurrent civil action may be brought during the criminal proceeding, or damages claimed separately.
Practical Tips
For brand owners: where large-scale counterfeiting dens are found, a criminal report deters far more strongly than a platform complaint, and the account books and inventory seized during investigation are ready-made evidence for later claims. For operators: contract manufacturing with others' labels, refilling recycled genuine packaging, and selling obviously underpriced branded goods are the most common red-line scenarios—always verify the chain of authorization.
If you are unsure about the above, you may first arrange trademark monitoring on MyTMBee, and a filed trademark agent will give an analysis before you act.