Courts in China have historically been reluctant to grant preliminary injunctions (PIs) in patent cases, but in late 2018 the Supreme People’s Court of China released a new judicial interpretation designed to provide greater clarity and consistency in this area of the law. That interpretation, which took effect in January 2019, codifies and standardizes the substantive and procedural requirements for adjudicating requests for PIs. Now, the Tianjin Intellectual Property Tribunal has applied the interpretation in a new context, issuing a PI directing customs authorities to block the export of goods suspected of infringing an invention patent (analogous to a US utility patent)—reportedly the first time a court has ever issued such an injunction.