중국의 세관보호조례에 의한 지적재산권의 보호

Chinese law allows an intellectual property(IP) owner to register its IP rights with Customs. This registration will permit the Customs Office to notify the applicant of any potential infringement that it find. For trademarks, copyrights, and design patents, evidence of actual infringement must then be supplied to Customs, so that the agent can compare the registration and a photo or sample of the accused product. A Customs agent will generally not be able to determine the infringement of a product or method patent, due to an inability to compare items visually. Under appropriate circumstance, Chinese Customs can then seize suspected infringing goods that are being exported, dispose of the infringing goods, and impose sanctions on the exporter. Under the rules, IP owners who discover infringing goods can ask Chinese Customs to seize those goods even without advance registration of their IP rights. The Primary protective measure for the IP owner is the detention of suspected infringing goods at the Chinese Customs. If the detained goods are found to be infringing by the Customs, the administrative authority or the courts, it will be confiscated by the Customs.