BEIJING - Chinese customs took tough measures against intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement last year, official data showed Tuesday.

Customs authorities seized more than 19,000 shipments of goods suspected of IPR infringement in 2017, involving nearly 41 million individual items, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Over 98 percent of the goods were involved in trademark infringement. The value of those involved in patent infringement rose 41.2 percent year on year.

Most of the seized goods were transported by sea, and through customs offices in eastern coastal regions.

The GAC data showed that authorities seized nearly 13 million items suspected of IPR infringement of domestic enterprises last year, up 70.8 percent.