Newly revised Chinese Trademark Law
29
April
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UpdatedMarch 16,2021 11:54am
Newly revised Chinese Trademark Law
With the promulgation on 30 August, 2013, the newly revised Chinese Trademark Law has beeb taken effect on May 1, 2014. It will respond to the most concerned “complex prosecution procedures, rampant bad faith registrations and poor protection”. The detailed explanation of some key changes is categorized into 3 sections and provided below:
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It will simplify the prosecution procedure.
- Sound is permitted to be registered as a trademark;
- Multi-class applications will be accepted;
- Electronic filing becomes available;
- Time-limit for actions is set up, e.g. the preliminary examination must be issued within 9 months from the date of application;
- Renewal. Trademarks can be renewed within 12 months prior to the expiration date, compared to 6 months under the old law.
- Opposition procedure. Substantial changes will be applied. Only allows the owner of a prior right or an interested party to lodge an opposition on relative grounds before the trademark is registered. In the past, any party could oppose any trademark on any grounds. If an opposition claim is denied by the CTMO, the CTMO will allow immediate registration.
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It will help to maintain the order of the market better than before.
- Well-known Trademarks. The words “well-known trademark” shall not be used in promotions or advertising.
- Take trademark for company name. Any company uses a registered trademark, or a well-known unregistered trademark as its trade name and causes public confusion may create liability under China’s Unfair Competition Law.
- Use requirement. An alleged infringer will be able to use as a defense that the trademark owner has not used the registered trademark for the past three years.
- Responsibility of trademark agencies. Besides the confidential duties and other obligations, the new version also prohibits the registration of trademark in the name of trademark agency beyond its business scope.
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It will strengthen the protection on the exclusive right to use trademark.
- Punitive Calculation. Damages up to triple the actual damage in “serious cases”, if the infringement is repeated within a five-year period.
- Statutory Damage. The statutory damage has increased from RMB 0.5 million to RMB 3 million ($500,000), which is six times more than the previous limit.
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