Court: Huangpu Customs and Guangzhou IP Court (2024)
Facts: A Foshan ceramics company (Company I) owned the "XX Ceramics" registered trademark and several tile design patents, mainly exporting to the EU, and had completed IP recordation with the General Administration of Customs. In March 2024, a shipment of tiles bound for Germany was detained by German customs on suspicion of infringing an Italian company's (Company J's) design patent, and J filed suit in the EU courts. Company I urgently applied to Huangpu Customs for IP protection and filed a declaratory non-infringement action in Guangzhou IP Court.
Holding:
(1) Huangpu Customs assisted in verifying infringement clues and confirmed clear differences between I's products and J's patent, constituting no infringement;
(2) Guangzhou IP Court issued a declaratory non-infringement judgment, which Company I used to apply to German customs for release;
(3) With EU lawyers assisting the defense, Company J ultimately withdrew the suit and the goods were cleared.
Significance:
· Builds a full-chain enforcement system combining domestic customs recordation, cross-border judicial confirmation, and overseas lawyer coordination, providing a model for Guangdong exporters facing overseas IP detentions;
· Highlights the importance of customs IP protection and encourages exporters to complete IP filings and customs recordation in advance;
· Demonstrates the effectiveness of coordinated IP protection by Guangdong courts and customs, helping exporters address technical trade barriers.