Trademark Review and Adjudication Rules Amended

On September 26£¬2005, China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce promulgated the new Trademark Review and Adjudication Rules, which took effect subsequently on October 26, 2005.

The new rules have made quite a number of changes to the way the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) works. The most important changes are as follows:

1. Availability of mediation and settlement. The new rules allow the parties to a trademark dispute to settle the dispute privately and give the TRAB the power to act as a mediator. When such a settlement is granted, the interests of public and the third party should be considered. However, the rules do not specify the ways how the mediation works.

2. One opportunity for submitting supplemental materials. A party that applies for a trademark review will have only one opportunity to submit supplemental materials, which must be done within three months from the initial filing of the review. In the past, there was no restriction on the opportunities for submitting of supplemental materials as long as they are within the three month period.

3. Flexibility in notarization and legalization of evidence. Under the old rules, evidence originating from outside China must be notarized and legalized. According to the new rules, such notarization and legalization are not required, unless the opposing party challenges the authenticity of the evidence with supporting evidence, or the TRAB considers it necessary.

4. Consideration of all absolute grounds for refusal. In general, the TRAB only examines grounds of rejection recited by the Trademark Office when a refusal decision is reviewed. Under the new rules, the TRAB is empowered to consider the registrability of a mark on all absolute grounds for refusal, no matter what grounds of rejection are recited by the Trademark Office. If the TRAB raises any new issue, the applicant should be entitled to present his argument.

This is the second amendment to the rules.