China Customs IP Recordal: How Foreign Brands Stop Counterfeits at the Border

A Chinese trademark registration stops others from registering the same mark, but on its own it does not stop physical counterfeits from crossing the border. That job belongs to customs recordal — a filing with the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) that puts a brand's rights into the hands of the officers who inspect shipments every day. For a foreign rights holder it is usually the cheapest enforcement tool available in China, and the one most often left undone.

What customs IP recordal actually is

The regime sits in the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (中华人民共和国知识产权海关保护条例), issued as State Council Order No. 395 in 2003 and amended in 2010 (Order No. 572) and again in 2018 (Order No. 698). The operational detail is in the Measures for the Implementation of the Customs IP Protection Regulations, GACC Decree No. 240 of 2018. The design is simple: a rights holder files its intellectual property with GACC once, and from that point customs officers across the country have the right on their systems and can act against suspected infringing goods on both export and import. Recordal is not a ruling that any particular shipment infringes — it is an early-warning and intervention mechanism that shifts the burden of watching the border from the brand to the state.

What can be recorded, and by whom

• The recordable rights. Trademark exclusive rights, copyright and related rights, and patent rights (Regulation Article 2). Trademark recordal is by far the most common in practice, because it matches the goods-oriented nature of border inspection.
• Only the rights holder may record. GACC will refuse a filing by anyone else — including an exclusive licensee, who cannot record in its own name but may act as the rights holder's authorized agent in detention matters.
• How long it lasts. Recordal is valid for the remaining term of the underlying IP right, capped at 10 years, and is renewable (apply within six months before expiry). If the right lapses, the recordal lapses with it.
• Cost. There is no filing fee — the charge was suspended in 2015, and recordal remains free of charge.

The recordal process and time limits

1. File online. The application goes through GACC's IP protection filing system (知识产权海关保护备案系统), with proof of the right (the registration certificate), the applicant's identity and contact details, and any known infringement information you want on file.
2. Decision in 30 working days. GACC must decide whether to approve the recordal within 30 working days of receiving complete documents (Regulation Article 8). In practice, straightforward trademark filings are often decided faster.
3. Keep it current. Once approved, the recordal is effective nationwide. Update contact details, add authorized agents, or amend the record whenever your portfolio or enforcement team changes.

Active versus passive protection: how goods actually get stopped

This is where most confusion sits. Chinese customs offers two modes of protection, and the value of recordal lies almost entirely in the first.

Active (ex officio, 依职权) protection

Customs detains suspected infringing goods on its own initiative during routine inspection, then notifies the recorded rights holder. The holder must respond — by confirming the goods are suspected counterfeits and filing a written detention application — within three working days of the notice. The security required is capped: no more than RMB 100,000, and less for smaller shipments (the full value where the goods are worth under RMB 20,000; 50%, with a minimum of RMB 20,000, where the goods are worth between RMB 20,000 and RMB 200,000). This mode needs no advance application for a specific shipment, which is exactly why recordal is valuable.

Passive (on-application, 依申请) protection

The holder learns of a specific shipment and files a detention application naming it, posting security not exceeding the value of the goods. This route works even without recordal — but only if you already know the shipment is coming, which in practice means having intelligence from an investigator or a distributor.

Detention periods and what happens to the goods

The clock differs by mode. Under passive protection, customs releases the goods after 20 working days unless a court has ordered assistance. Under active protection, customs investigates within 30 working days, and releases the goods after 50 working days if no court order has arrived and infringement cannot be established; overall detention is capped at one year, extendable once. There is also a de minimis boundary: personal items carried or mailed within "self-use, reasonable quantity" are excluded from enforcement, but commercial or above-threshold express shipments are not exempt — so e-commerce parcels are squarely in scope.

Practical steps for foreign brands

• Record everything you can. File every trademark you actually use in China, plus key copyrights and patents, before you need them — recordal is the prerequisite for the active mode that catches what you do not know about.
• Keep the recordal alive. Diarize renewals (within six months before expiry) and update the named contact the moment your in-house counsel or local agent changes; a three-working-day response window leaves no room for a stale email address.
• Respond fast, and mean it. A detention notice is an opportunity, not a formality. Confirm within the deadline and be ready to back the detention with the required security and, if needed, a court action.
• Pair the border with the market. Customs stops shipments; the underlying infringer still needs to be pursued through the courts or administrative action for the problem to end.

Recordal is the foundation, not the whole strategy. A border seizure is typically the opening move in a larger matter — it can lead to a civil action for damages, a destruction order, or a settlement with the exporter and its factory. Our intellectual property team handles recordal, detention responses and enforcement end-to-end, and our guides on trademark squatting and bad-faith filings, IP litigation for foreign companies and customs penalties and administrative review cover the adjacent territory. The regulation and its implementing measures are amended periodically, and the applicable detention periods and security rules can change — confirm the operative text and any current GACC notices before relying on a specific time limit in a live matter.