On 10 October 2026, Shanghai Customs released data showing that from January to September 2026, frontline port offices under its authority, including Waigaoqiao Port Customs and Yangshan Customs, handled 16 cases involving solar PV products suspected of infringing on intellectual property (IP), with a total value of more than RMB5 million (US$750,000).
These products were found at Chinese ports awaiting export overseas, and suggests that some are looking to exploit China’s strong solar manufacturing sector—Chinese manufacturers account for more than 80% of global manufacturing capacity across the solar supply chain—and sell counterfeit products overseas.
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During IP-rights enforcement efforts, several PV module manufacturers have assisted customs in intercepting modules shipped through unauthorised channels. JinkoSolar noted it had recently uncovered multiple infringement incidents in overseas markets, where counterfeit products were sold.
Such activities not only undermine consumers’ legitimate rights and interests but also damage JinkoSolar’s reputation and finances, as well as the IP interests of Chinese PV brands. The company has actively reported these incidents to the relevant customs and market-regulatory authorities, and cooperated with them to investigate and seize counterfeit and infringing goods at the export phase.
In response to this phenomenon, Shanghai Customs has strengthened IP protection at the border and improved the precision of its enforcement.
“We closely monitor key commodities, use intelligent trademark-recognition tools, and verify authenticity from multiple dimensions including packaging workmanship, anti-counterfeit labels and manufacturing details to cut off the export channels for infringing goods,” said Zhao Fangxiao, chief of the Fourth Inspection Section at Waigaoqiao Port Customs.
According to Zhao, Shanghai Customs has also opened a “fast track channel” for coordinated IP protection. It actively encourages right-holders to apply for customs intellectual-property recordation and general guarantees, simplifies the guarantee procedures for individual shipments and streamlines the rights-protection process to reduce costs.
It also invites brand technical experts to brief frontline inspectors on the latest counterfeiting tactics and identification skills, helping officers better detect infringement risks.
Shanghai Customs signs partnerships to strengthen border security
Shanghai Customs, in partnership with the Shanghai Intellectual Property Office and the Pudong New Area People’s Government, has also established the Cross-Border Intellectual-Property Service Workstation for Sci-Tech Enterprises and signed the Agreement on Joint Development of Coordinated Intellectual-Property Protection.
The agreement defines nine areas of cooperation and has built a complete IP protection workflow covering corporate training, case handling and information exchange.
Furthermore, Shanghai Customs has teamed up with Nanjing Customs, Hangzhou Customs and other customs authorities to hold regular exchanges on IP protection for the Yangtze River Delta ecological and green integrated development demonstration zone. These efforts aim to strengthen multi-party cooperation and build a stronger intellectual-property protection network for regional PV companies pursuing global markets.
These announcements follow a number of IP disputes in the global solar industry, which have typically focused on manufacturers asserting their rights to produce and sell particular products, rather than counterfeiters selling fake products. Already this year, Maxeon and Canadian Solar have been involved in patent lawsuits and T1 Energy acquired a number of TOPCon patents to strengthen its own IP position.
