The General Administration of Customs recently unveiled the 2007 Top 10 Intellectual Property Right (IPR) protection events of Chinese Customs in Beijing.

Last year, Chinese Customs seized more than 333 million pieces of goods involving IPR infringement, valued at close to 439 million yuan ($62.91 million) - up 83 and 116 percent year on year, respectively.

1) Huangpu Customs seized nearly 300,000 tubes of fake 'Close Up' toothpaste

Huangpu customs in Guangdong province received last July a complaint from the consumer products giant Unilever saying a company intended to export counterfeited tubes of Close Up toothpaste through the Huangpu port.

The customs spotted two containers that had entered the harbor without customs declarations. According to the regulations, customs is not allowed to check the products before the exporters make their declaration. In order to prevent the suspects from moving the counterfeits to somewhere else, the customs asked the local institution for industry and commerce for help. Through a joint action, they found the bogus toothpaste in two containers, or 298,730 tubes, valued at around 1 million yuan.

2) Counterfeit sportswear found by Xiamen Customs

When a customs official with Xiamen customs ran the clearance system as usual on April 12, 2007, one declaration caught his attention. It was submitted by a company from East China's Fujian province for garments bound for the United Arab Emirates.

The owner of the cargo declined to cooperate with customs officials and stalled the customs broker as long as possible, which intensified the official's suspicions.

The cargo was finally inspected two days later and found to be 8,406 items of pirated sportswear bearing nine different brands, including China's sports brand Lining. The garments were confiscated and the exporter fined by Xiamen customs.

3) Shanghai Customs found 1 million fake batteries

On August 12, 2007, a Zhuhai-based company applied to the Shanghai customs to export a batch of batteries to the United Arabic Emirates. Customs officers found the batteries bearing the logo "SOYO". The brand, which belongs to Shanghai-based Zhiwei Battery Co, had been registered with the General Administration of Customs' IPR protection system only four days before.

Shanghai customs reported the find to local industrial and commerce agencies.

4) Wuhan Customs found infringement of a canned horsebeans brand

A Wuhan-based company applied for permission to Yichang customs in Hubei province last December to export 7,400 crates of canned horsebeans (also known as broad beans) to the United Arabic Emirates on behalf of a company in Anhui province. After evaluating the request, customs officials inspect the shipment and a total of four shipping containers of canned horsebeans with the "Lui" brand were proved to be fake.

5) Hangzhou Customs found fake 'Tiffany' items in the post office

On March 6, 2007, an EMS express mail carton wrapped with tape caught the eyes of customs officials, who worked with the local post office, as they checked parcels going overseas as usual.

The box, not large but extremely heavy, was addressed to the United States from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province and the sender's address was too vague to tell.

When the parcel was opened, 2,629 silver accessories with the well-known US luxury maker Tiffany &Co script were found.

Within 20 days, customs officers seized another two EMS parcels, of 1,370 and 1,168 of fake "Tiffany &Co" products and 980 green packing cases and brochures credited to the company. All the products were confiscated.

6) Beijing Customs seized counterfeit 'Beijing 2008' T-shirts

A parcel, which was claimed to hold documents, arrived in Beijing via express mail in January 2007, from the United States. Officials from Beijing Customs noticed the parcel was much heavier than ordinary documents of similar size. When the officials opened the parcel for inspection, they found it was full of T-shirts bearing "Beijing 2008" and logos of the Beijing Olympic Games. All the garments were later found to be counterfeited products without the approval from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.

7) Guangzhou Customs discovered a fake Fuwa mold

When a passenger arrived in Guangzhou from a flight from Vietnam in June, 2007, customs officials at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport found he was carrying little luggage and he had not filled out a customs declaration form.

A mold of Fuwa, the five mascots of the Beijing Olympic Games, was found in his luggage. After getting in touch with the BOCOG, the customs proved the mold infringed the IPRs of the Olympic Games. The information from Guangzhou customs also helped local industrial and commerce institutions to seized a factory in Zhongshan making fake Fuwa.

This is also the first time that customs found a mold violating the IPR of Beijing Olympics Games.

8) Shenzhen Customs seized 900 cartons of fake Marlboro cigarettes

Shenzhen customs in South China's Guangdong province launched a three-month-long campaign against fake cigarettes beginning in late 2006. At the beginning of 2007, it received a declaration from a trading company for exports of a batch of plastic flowers to Hong Kong.

The customs found the final destination of the products was Spain, which was a frequent destination for fake cigarettes, so it opened the container for inspection. Under 86 crates of flowerpots inspectors found over 900 cartons of cigarettes with fake Marlboro logos.

9) Qingdao Customs found dozens of counterfeit branded products

A logistics agency in Shenzhen applied to Qingdao customs last July for permission to export cotton knit blouses that it planned to transport to South Korea by sea and to the United States by air.

It aroused the suspicions of customs because most businesses preferred marine shipment for such low-value products rather than air transport.

In a total of 88 crates, products of several categories, including footwear, garments, watches and medicines, were found, involving over 30 internationally well-known brands. The case was reported to police bureaus.

10) Fuzhou Customs seized 100,000 units of phony Adidas logos

A trading company applied to Fuzhou customs to export molds, glue and logos in March, 2007.

When inspectors opened the bags, more than 100,000 items with fake Adidas logos were found disguised with legitimate logos from other brands.

(China Daily May 20, 2008)