Chin:Chinese customs has seized 7.1 million items suspected of IP infringement in the first half of 2018, according to new data shared by China’s official news agency Xinhua yesterday.
The data, from China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), showed that most of the items (6.9 million) were suspected of infringing trademarks.
Xinhua noted that China’s customs worked closely with its Russian counterparts between March and June to tackle IP infringements related to the FIFA World Cup 2018, which took place between June 14 and July 15 in Russia.
The data showed that more than 500,000 items related to the football tournament were seized by the two countries’ customs authorities.
Zhang Guangzhi, spokesperson of the GAC, reportedly said that Chinese customs will continue to crack down on IP infringements. Guangzhi added that China will impose harsher punishments on enterprises which violate the country’s IP law.
The GAC’s data showed that nearly 3,000 (2,796) applications for customs IP protection in China were approved in the first half of this year, and approximately 4.8 million seized items were involved in IP infringement proceedings involving Chinese enterprises.
Xinhua yesterday claimed that the volume of seizures shows the country’s commitment to stepping up IP protection.
The data’s release comes shortly after the US said it will impose additional tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports in response to “abusive practices with regard to IP”.
In a White Paper about China’s relationship with the World Trade Organization (WTO) released last month, China said it “effectively” protects IP rights. Since acceding to the WTO in 2001, China has strengthened its IP protection and administrative law enforcement, the document added.
The release of the White Paper followed a filing by the EU at the WTO alleging that China is in breach of the TRIPS Agreement and other legal agreements covering IP. The filing accused China of discriminating against foreign IP owners and restricting their ability to protect IP in China.
