Guangdong Customs yesterday promised to continue to protect World Cup intellectual property rights (IPR) and to combat any World Cup trademark, logo and mascot infringements, especially in June and July.

"Customs officers in all checkpoints in Guangdong have been required to expand their inspection to prevent World Cup trademark infringement products and counterfeit World Cup and FIFA products from going out and coming into the southern Chinese province during the two months," Wu Sihai, a Guangdong Customs officer, said yesterday.

While the World Cup is taking place in Germany, the import and export of World Cup-related products also increased greatly in Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Guangdong Customs have, so far, cracked down on World Cup and FIFA trademark infringement in two cases since the beginning of June.

A total of 3,600 wristbands that were suspected World Cup and FIFA trademark infringements were seized by customs officers from the luggage of three passengers in Shantou International Airport early this month.

Guangdong's Huangpu Customs also seized many knapsacks that are World Cup trademark infringements in an export container last week.

In June, Guangdong Provincial Administration of Industry and Commerce launched several campaigns to inspect local sportswear stores in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province.

Many pirated sneakers, caps and other sportswear have been confiscated in the city.

Meanwhile, customs in east China's Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces seized many footballs that illegally bear World Cup and FIFA logos.

On June 14, Ningbo Customs in Zhejiang seized 10 cases of 600 footballs that illegally used the World Cup trademark and logo.

Lianyungang Customs in Jiangsu also seized a total of 2,732 footballs that were illegally printed with the FIFA logo from an export container, on June 6.

(China Daily June 21, 2006)