Customs recordal of trademark rights is the procedure by which a trademark owner registers its registered trademark information with the General Administration of Customs (GAC) under the Regulations on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights. After recordal, customs at all ports nationwide, upon discovering goods suspected of infringement during supervision, may proactively suspend release and notify the rights holder on their own initiative—it is the key that activates trademark protection at import and export.
Institutional Framework
Customs protection of intellectual property takes two forms:
- Protection on customs' own initiative: premised on recordal. Where customs discover goods suspected of infringing a recorded trademark, they notify the rights holder in writing; if the rights holder confirms infringement, submits a detention request, and provides security within three working days, customs detains the goods and investigates, confiscating goods found infringing and possibly imposing fines, or referring criminal clues to the police;
- Protection on application: no recordal required—the rights holder, upon discovering infringing goods about to be imported or exported, applies to customs at the entry or exit location for detention, but must provide evidence showing that infringement is plainly evident and security equal to the value of the goods, and customs will not investigate proactively. In practice, protection on customs' own initiative is the mainstream, and recordal is its premise.
Recordal Conditions and Materials
- Subject: the trademark registrant (a licensee generally needs the registrant's cooperation); the trademark must be within its term;
- Materials: recordal application, trademark registration certificate and renewal or change certificates, identity proof, statement of licensing use, identification points distinguishing genuine from infringing goods, main import and export ports and route information, etc.;
- Channel: online submission through the GAC intellectual property customs protection recordal system.
Validity and Maintenance
Recordal takes effect on the date the GAC approves it and is valid for ten years; where the trademark's remaining term is under ten years, the trademark's term governs. After renewal, change, or assignment of the trademark, the recordal should be updated promptly—otherwise customs may be unable to reach the rights holder, and the three-working-day response window may be missed, resulting in release of the goods.
Post-Detention Process
After detaining suspect goods, customs investigates, and the consignor or consignee may make statements and defenses within the prescribed period: those claiming no infringement must submit evidence, while the rights holder must cooperate within the statutory period for the determination. Where customs find infringement, the goods are confiscated and a fine of up to 30% of the goods' value may be imposed on the consignor or consignee; where infringement cannot be established or the rights holder fails to sue within the prescribed period, the goods may be released; parties disputing the determination may resolve it through administrative litigation. Confiscated infringing goods are generally destroyed; in special cases they may be auctioned only after the infringing labels are removed.
Practical Value and Cooperation
Customs recordal is inexpensive, and one recordal covers all ports, making it extremely cost-effective for foreign-trade brands and industries with high fake-goods export incidence (apparel, bags, electronics accessories, cosmetics, etc.). To help customs target accurately, rights holders should proactively provide ports with genuine-versus-fake identification training, infringement leads, and known counterfeit characteristics—turning recordal from a paper registration into a living interception net—and combine it with domestic platform complaints, administrative enforcement, and criminal referral for full-chain protection.
How these concepts apply in a specific case still varies in detail; you may consult a filed trademark agent on MyTMBee for case-specific analysis.