Copyright Customs Recordal - Your Brand's Saving Grace?

Brands often grow their presence at rapid speeds in China. Sometimes this can happen in a way which hasn't allowed time for the groundwork to be set by way of registering a trade mark or other intellectual property rights.

The absence of these rights offers counterfeiters an opportunity to flood the market with a range of counterfeit and copycat goods. Most of these goods originate in China where the brand owner may still be struggling with trade mark registration and subsequently has limited means to fight against booming infringement. In situations like this, a key tool in the fight against counterfeiters can be filing a copyright recordal with China Customs as an interim measure. This can be undertaken in the absence of a trade mark right.