How To Stop China Counterfeiting

Home | China Law Blog | How to Stop China Counterfeiting or at Least Reduce it A number of our clients manufacture products that sell for relatively high prices due in large part to distinguishing characteristics of our client's company or product. In other words, the exact kind of product counterfeiters love to copy. Not sure why, but we have been spending more time lately in helping our clients prevent counterfeiting and dealing with it once it has been discovered. Hence, this post on how to stop China counterfeiting or at least reduce it. Here are the four keys to stopping China counterfeiting: 1. Be wary of those you know. Much counterfeiting comes from people and entities that know your product well. This could be your manufacturers, your distributers, your retailers, your own employee or an employee of a company with whom you are doing business. It therefore behooves you to do your utmost to conduct business with well-run and reputable companies and to keep your eye on them nonetheless. If possible, it also behooves you to do your best to prevent these companies from having full and unfettered access to what they need to copy your products. 2. Register your trademarks in China and in your home country, and wherever else you sell or plan to sell your product. Regular readers must be getting tired of us always saying this, but hey, it's the truth. Why is registering trademarks so critical to protecting trademark rights in China? Because without a China trademark you pretty much do not have any rights to your own brand name or logo or slogan. Also, if you register your trademarks in China, you can then register them with China Customs, which greatly increases the likelihood of China Customs stopping counterfeits of your products from leaving China. If you register your trademarks in the United States and then complete an Intellectual Property Rights e-Recordation (IPRR) application online, US customs will then be on guard for counterfeits of your products coming into the US. Most other countries have something similar. It also helps to visit with China Customs and the Customs Bureau in your home country (particularly at the ports where your products are most likely to transit) to show them examples of your legitimate products and to do what you can to train them to spot counterfeits of your products. 3. Monitor, monitor, and monitor some more. Check the internet constantly to see if anyone is selling counterfeit versions of your product. At minimum, check both the Chinese language and the English language Internet. When we do this sort of monitoring for our clients, we invariably find the really big volume sellers on the Chinese Internet. Search the Internet for counterfeits of your product by name and by image. 4. Do something to stop counterfeiters once found. When we find someone on the Internet selling counterfeit versions of our clients' products, we typically send the seller a cease and desist letter. f, as is usually the case, the seller is based in China, we send that letter in both Chinese and in English. We make clear that if the counterfeit goods seller does not immediately cease, we will pursue litigation. These letters usually work. In fact, many times, the seller will profess not to have known that they were selling counterfeit goods (and in some cases I have believed them) and they will often ask whether they can buy the real thing at wholesale for retail resale from our client or do a licensing deal. A number of our clients have walked away with decent to good deals. In most instances, the counterfeit goods are being sold on some sort of online marketplace such as eBay or Amazon or Alibaba or Taobao, or -- in many cases -- some lesser known Chinese online marketplace. The bigger name marketplaces (American and Chinese) have procedures for removing counterfeit goods from their sites. The Chinese sites remove the counterfeits only if you can prove you have a Chinese trademark and the American sites generally require proof of an American trademark. If the above actions do not achieve your desired results, you should consider suing somebody somewhere to stop the counterfeiting. What do you think? Check Out Our China Law Services Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn E-mail Comment Dan Harris Dan Harris is a founding member of Harris Sliwoski, an international law firm where he mostly represents companies doing business in emerging market countries. Most of his time is spent helping American and European companies navigate foreign countries by working with the international lawyers at his firm in setting up companies overseas (WFOEs, Subsidiaries, Rep Offices and Joint Ventures), drafting international contracts, protecting IP, and overseeing M&A transactions. In addition, Dan writes and speaks extensively on international law, with a focus on protecting foreign businesses in their overseas operations. He is also a prolific and widely-followed blogger, writing as the co-author of the award-winning China Law Blog. Harris Sliwoski Attorney Read more posts [email protected] Read More Intellectual Property (IP), International Manufacturing Related Posts September 15, 2026 Your AI-Drafted China Contract Says It Needs a Lawyer. Listen to It. September 11, 2026 Forensic Accountants in China Business Litigation: How True Numbers Can Tell the Wrong Story September 4, 2026 China NNN Agreement or Trademark Registration? You Usually Need Both September 1, 2026 AI Didn't Replace Lawyers. It Gave Us the 48-Page Contract. August 27, 2026 Do I Need a China NNN Agreement or a China Manufacturing Agreement? Usually Both. August 26, 2026 China’s New Overseas Investment Rules: Can Your Chinese Investor Actually Get the Money Out? August 24, 2026 International IP Protection for Startups: What to Protect and Where August 19, 2026 The Documents Are the International Deal August 19, 2026 China Supplier Fraud in Yiwu: Why We Recommended the Police, Not a Lawsuit August 17, 2026 China Trademark Registration: Why U.S. Companies Need More Than a Filing Agent August 10, 2026 Buying Expensive Equipment from China: Seven Questions to Answer Before You Pay August 7, 2026 DDP Shipping Risks: What Boise Cascade’s Guilty Plea Means for U.S. Buyers August 6, 2026 Protecting Your Artwork Internationally: What Artists Need to Do Before the Work Travels August 5, 2026 Your China Employee Signed the Vacation Policy. You Can Still Lose. July 29, 2026 The RedNote Contract Lesson for Companies Doing Business in China Leave a comment Cancel reply