This course covers the legal and operational framework for intellectual property rights enforcement at India's customs border under the IPR (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules 2007, framed under Sections 11 and 156 of the Customs Act 1962, read with Chapter 22 of the Indian Customs Manual 2025. The course opens with the basis for customs-level IPR enforcement — Section 11's prohibition power, India's TRIPS obligations under Articles 51–60, and why customs interception is the most efficient point in the supply chain to stop counterfeit and pirated goods. The six categories of IPR covered under the Rules — trademarks, copyrights, geographical indications, patents, designs, and integrated circuit layout designs — are explained alongside the substantive IP statutes that define infringement for each category.

The registration mechanism under Rule 3 is covered in full — the application procedure, information requirements, the five-year registration period (or remaining IPR life, whichever is shorter), renewal, and cancellation. The course then works through the two suspension pathways — application-based suspension by the rights holder under Rule 5, and ex officio action by the customs officer under Rule 4 — explaining the trigger conditions, the 10-working-day suspension window, the extension provision when legal proceedings are initiated, and the mandatory release obligation when proceedings are not initiated. The indemnity undertaking requirement on the rights holder, the importer's rights during detention, the examination procedure, and the conditions for release are all treated as CBLE-testable procedural details. The course explains why the redemption fine under Section 125 is not available for IPR-infringing goods — a high-frequency CBLE exception to the standard confiscation framework — and covers the destruction procedure and cost-bearing obligation. Chapter 22 of the Customs Manual is mapped throughout for the operational workflow including RMS-based risk profiling, DRI referrals for organised counterfeit smuggling, and WCO CEN reporting. The distinction between counterfeit goods and parallel imports of genuine goods is addressed as a nuanced CBLE boundary concept.