On April 23, 2025, the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China released the 2024 Report on the Status of Customs Intellectual Property Protection in China, which provides a detailed summary of the legal and policy landscape, industry development trends, and the substantive progress made in 2024 in areas such as law enforcement outcomes, institutional development, technological application, and cooperation mechanisms related to customs intellectual property protection.
This article summarizes the status of IPR protection at China Customs in 2024.
1. Sustained Enforcement and Increased Rights Holder Participation
In 2024, China Customs implemented over 53,200 IP protection actions and detained more than 41,600 batches of suspected infringing goods, totaling 81.6 million items. Rights holders from 58 countries and regions utilized customs protection to safeguard their interests, reflecting the increased effectiveness and visibility of the system.
Regarding rights holder registration, China Customs accepted nearly 30,000 applications for IP protection recordation during the year, with over 16,000 filed by domestic rights holders—a year-on-year increase of over 24%. The number of newly registered rights holders and agents also rose, indicating broader engagement from enterprises.
Trademark protection remained dominant. Customs detained 41,300 batches of goods suspected of infringing trademark rights, accounting for 99.5% of all detentions. However, enforcement related to patents and copyrights also expanded significantly, with respective detentions rising by 71.33% and 393.61% year-on-year.
2. Enforcement Focus Remains on Export Channels and Emerging Trade Models
Export continued to be the primary focus of enforcement, with outbound goods accounting for over 98% of all detained batches and items. Inbound detentions declined compared to the previous year. Proactive, ex officio enforcement remained the dominant approach, representing more than 97% of all detentions.
Customs also strengthened oversight of emerging trade models such as cross-border e-commerce and market procurement. In 2024, cross-border e-commerce became the leading enforcement channel by batch count, with over 20 million items detained. Market procurement accounted for 25.5 million detained items.
Regionally, eastern coastal customs authorities continued to handle the majority of detentions. However, enforcement capacity in central, western, and border regions improved, with several customs offices seeing detention batch counts double year-on-year.In terms of product types, apparel, electronics, and leather goods remained the top three categories for batch detentions. Electronics, sporting goods, and tobacco products led in total item count.
3. Legal Frameworks Refined, with Greater Alignment to International Rules
China Customs initiated revisions to the Regulations on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, soliciting input from industry groups, scholars, and customs offices to improve the legal foundation.
Meanwhile, new administrative penalty guidelines were introduced to define specific criteria for IP-related sanctions. Provisions such as “no penalty for minor violations” were applied in practice—81 batches totaling 13,300 items were exempted from administrative penalties under this principle.
To align with international standards, customs authorities engaged in research on IP protection clauses under agreements such as the CPTPP and piloted transit cargo IP protection in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone to explore regulatory models compatible with global norms.
4. Targeted Campaigns Address High-Risk Areas and Channels
In 2024, China Customs conducted a series of targeted enforcement campaigns:
1) “Dragon Operation” focused on outbound infringing goods, particularly in sectors involving personal care products, food, and cosmetics.2) “Blue Net Operation” addressed infringing goods in postal and express channels, deploying data-driven targeting and establishing high-risk product-country profiles.3) “Clean Net Operation” cracked down on goods transiting through or destined for Hong Kong and Macao, which are commonly used to circumvent enforcement.4) “Africa Action” concentrated on goods exported to Africa, detaining over 10 million items and aiming to protect the reputation of “Made in China” in emerging markets.
These actions significantly enhanced enforcement accuracy and deterrence across various sectors and regions.
5. Digital Tools Strengthen Intelligent Enforcement Capabilities
Technology played a major role in customs IP protection in 2024. Enforcement systems were upgraded to integrate with multiple business platforms, reducing manual input and improving efficiency.
Customs developed intelligent models and tagging systems to identify infringement risks automatically, enabling real-time targeting and action against suspect declarations.
New tools such as legal knowledge bases and image recognition systems were deployed across customs offices, supporting more accurate and timely risk assessments during inspections.
6. Coordination and Cooperation Strengthened Domestically and Internationally
Domestically, customs authorities enhanced cooperation with law enforcement and regulatory bodies. In 2024, over 300 IP-related case leads were referred to public security agencies, contributing to multiple major case breakthroughs. Inter-regional cooperation networks were also reinforced, including in areas such as the Yangtze River Delta, the Greater Bay Area, and the Yellow River Basin.On the international front, China Customs participated in bilateral and multilateral forums including the China-EU, China-Japan, and China-Russia IP working groups, as well as meetings under the World Customs Organization and APEC frameworks. Data sharing and enforcement exchanges with countries such as Russia, Japan, and South Korea continued to expand.
7. Practical Support for Rights Holders, Especially Innovative Enterprises
Customs provided targeted support for enterprises seeking to protect and commercialize IP:
1) For manufacturers of the “new three” export categories (electric vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaic products), customs facilitated recordation and risk monitoring to mitigate infringement abroad.2) For cultural and creative sectors, including brands like “Dunhuang Cultural Innovation,” customs supported trademark recordation to assist with overseas market access.3) Dialogue mechanisms with foreign-invested enterprises were enhanced, providing a platform for feedback, policy updates, and improved enforcement transparency.
These efforts helped companies manage IP risk more proactively and strengthened confidence in the IP protection environment.Conclusion
In 2024, China Customs made tangible progress across enforcement, policy, technology, cooperation, and services in the field of intellectual property protection. The focus has gradually shifted from passive compliance to proactive governance, supported by a more sophisticated enforcement and service framework.
As the 14th Five-Year Plan enters its final phase and preparations for the 15th Plan begin, China Customs is expected to further refine its IP protection strategies to support innovation, stabilize trade and investment, and uphold a fair and secure trading environment.