Article
1. These
Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Trademark Law of
the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Trademark
Law).
Article
2. Provisions
regarding the goods trademarks in these Regulations shall apply to
service marks.
Article
3. The
use of a trademark, as referred to in the Trademark Law and these
Regulations, shall include the use of the trademark on goods, packages
or containers of the goods or in trading documents, and the use of
the trademark in advertising, exhibition or any other business activities.
Article
4. Goods
on which the State requires the use of a registered trademark, as
mentioned in Article 6 of the Trademark Law, refer to those on which
a registered trademark must be used as required by laws or administrative
regulations.
Article
5. Where
a dispute arises in the procedures of trademark registration or trademark
review and adjudication and the party concerned believes that its
trademark constitutes a well-known trademark, it may, in accordance
with the provisions of the Trademark Law and these Regulations, request
the Trademark Office or the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board
to determine whether its trademark constitutes a well-known trademark
or not and to refuse the application for trademark registration which
is in violation of the provisions of Article 13 of the Trademark Law
or to cancel the trademark registration which is in violation of the
provisions of Article 13 of the Trademark Law. When an application
for this purpose is filed, the party concerned shall submit evidence
to prove that its trademark constitutes a well-known trademark.
At the request of the party, the Trademark Office or the Trademark
Review and Adjudication Board shall, on the basis of ascertaining
the facts, determine whether its trademark is a well-known one or
not in accordance with the provisions of Article 14 of the Trademark
Law.
Article
6. For
geographical indications referred to in Article 16 of the Trademark
Law, applications may be filed to register them as certification marks
or collective marks under the provisions of the Trademark Law and
these Regulations.
Where a geographical indication is registered as a certification mark,
any natural person, legal person or other organization whose goods
satisfy the conditions under which the geographical indication is
used may request the use of the certification mark, and the organization
in control of such certification mark shall permit the use. Where
a geographical indication is registered as a collective mark, any
natural person, legal person or other organization whose goods satisfy
the conditions under which the geographical indication is used may
request the membership of the society, association or any other organization
that has the geographical indication registered as a collective mark,
and the society, association or any other organization shall accept
the membership in accordance with its articles of association; those
who do not request the membership of the society, association or any
other organization that has the geographical indication registered
as a collective mark may legitimately use the geographical indication,
and the society, association or any other organization is not entitled
to prohibit such use.
Article
7. Where
a party entrusts a trademark agency with the application for registration
of a trademark or with the handling of other trademark matters, a
Power of Attorney shall be submitted. The Power of Attorney shall
state the contents and the scope of powers; the Power of Attorney
of a foreigner or foreign enterprise shall also state the nationality
of the principal.
Procedures for notarizing and authenticating the Power of Attorney
and certifying documents relating thereto of a foreigner or foreign
enterprise shall be undertaken based on the principle of reciprocity.
As mentioned in Article 18 of the Trademark Law, a foreigner or foreign
enterprise refers to a foreigner or foreign enterprise having no habitual
residence or place of business in China.
Article
8. The
Chinese language shall be used in applying for trademark registration
or handling other trademark matters.
Where any certificate, certifying document or evidence submitted in
accordance with the provisions of the Trademark Law and these Regulations
is written in a foreign language, a Chinese translation shall be attached
thereto; if no Chinese translation is attached, it shall be deemed
that the certificate, certifying document or evidence has never been
submitted.
Article
9. In
any of the following situations, a staff member of the Trademark Office
or the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall voluntarily recuse
himself, and a party or an interested person may demand his recusal:
(1) if he
is a party, or a close relative of a party or an agent;
(2) if he has any other relation with a party or an agent that may
affect impartiality; or
(3) if he has an interest with the application for trademark registration
or the handling of other trademark matters.
Article
10. Except
as otherwise provided in these Regulations, the date on which a party
submits documents or papers to the Trademark Office or the Trademark
Review and Adjudication Board shall be the date of delivery if the
documents or papers are submitted in person, or be the mailing date
indicated by the postmark if they are sent by mail, or, if the mailing
date indicated by the postmark is illegible or there is no postmark,
be the date on which all of the papers or documents are received in
the Trademark Office or the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board,
except if the party can provide evidence of the exact date indicated
by the postmark.
Article
11. The
documents of the Trademark Office or the Trademark Review and Adjudication
Board may be sent to a party by mail, in person or by other means.
Where the party entrusts a trademark agency, the documents shall be
considered served on the party once they are delivered to the trademark
agency.
The date of service of any document on a party by the Trademark Office
or the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall, if the document
is sent by mail, be the receiving date indicated by the postmark on
which the document is received; if the receiving date indicated by
the postmark is illegible or there is no postmark, the document shall
be considered served on the party 15 days after the date on which
the document is sent. If the document is delivered in person, the
date of service shall be the date on which the document is delivered.
If the document cannot be sent by mail or delivered in person, it
may be served on the party by means of public notice, and the service
of the document shall be considered completed 30 days after the date
on which the public notice is issued.
Article
12. Applications
for international registration of trademarks shall be dealt with in
accordance with the relevant international treaties to which China
has acceded. The specific measures therefor shall be formulated by
the authority of administration for industry and commerce under the
State Council.
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Chapter
II Application for Trademark Registration
Article
13. Anyone
who applies for registration of a trademark shall file an application
based on the categories in the published Classification of Goods and
Services. For each application for registration of a trademark, the
applicant shall submit to the Trademark Office one copy of the Application
for Trademark Registration and five copies of reproductions of the
trademark; if color or colors is or are designated, five copies of
colored reproductions of the trademark and one copy of the black and
white design shall be submitted.
The reproductions
of a trademark must be clear, easy to be pasted up, printed on smooth
and clear durable paper or use photographs as a substitute, and the
length and breadth of which shall be not more than ten centimeters
and not less than five centimeters each.
If applying for the registration of a three-dimensional sign as a
trademark, the applicant shall make a statement in the application,
and submit a reproduction thereof by which the three-dimensional shape
can be determined.
If applying for the registration of the combination of colors as a
trademark, the applicant shall make a statement in the application,
and submit the descriptions thereof.
If applying for the registration of a collective mark or a certification
mark, the applicant shall make a statement in the application, and
submit the documents certifying the qualifications of the subjects
and the rules on the administration of the use of the mark.
Where a trademark is, or consists of, foreign words, their Chinese
meanings shall be indicated.
Article
14. When
applying for the registration of a trademark, the applicant shall
submit a duplicated copy of the valid credentials that can certify
its identity. The name in which the applicant has filed the application
for trademark registration shall be consistent with that shown in
the credentials submitted.
Article
15. The
goods or services shall be listed as specified in the Classification
of Goods and Services; where any goods or services are not included
in the Classification of Goods and Services, a description of the
goods or services in question shall be attached to the application.
Applications for trademark registration and other related documents
shall be typewritten or printed.
Article
16. Where
an application is jointly filed for the registration of a trademark,
a representative shall be designated in the application; if no representative
is designated, the first person in order in the application shall
be the representative.
Article
17. Where
an applicant modifies its name, address, agent, or deletes the goods
designated, it may go through the formalities of modification with
the Trademark Office.
Where an applicant assigns an application for trademark registration,
it shall go through the formalities of assignment with the Trademark
Office.
Article
18. The
filing date of an application for trademark registration shall be
the date on which the application documents are received by the Trademark
Office. Where the application formalities are complete and the application
documents are filled in as required, the Trademark Office shall accept
the application and notify the applicant in writing. Where the application
formalities are not complete and the application documents are not
filled in as required, the Trademark Office shall not accept the application
and shall notify the applicant in writing and give the reasons therefor.
Where the application formalities are basically complete or the application
documents are basically in compliance with the provisions, but there
is a need for supplements or amendments, the Trademark Office shall
notify the applicant to make supplements or amendments, requesting
it to make supplements or amendments to the specified parts and deliver
them back to the Trademark Office within 30 days from the date of
receipt of the notification. Where the supplements or amendments are
made and delivered back to the Trademark Office within the specified
time limit, the filing date shall be retained; where no supplements
or amendments are made at the expiration of the specified time limit,
the application shall be considered abandoned and the Trademark Office
shall notify the applicant in writing.
Article
19. Where
two or more applicants apply respectively on the same day for the
registration of identical or similar trademarks in respect of the
same or similar goods, both or all of the applicants shall, within
30 days from the date of receipt of the notification of the Trademark
Office, submit the evidence of prior use of such trademarks before
applying for registration. Where the use started on the same day or
none is yet in use, both or all of the applicants may, within 30 days
from the date of receipt of the notification of the Trademark Office,
conduct consultations on their own and submit a written agreement
to the Trademark Office; if they are not willing to conduct consultations
or they fail to reach an agreement through consultations, the Trademark
Office shall notify both or all of the applicants to determine one
of them by drawing lots and refuse the applications for registration
filed by others. Where an applicant has been notified by the Trademark
Office but fails to participate in the drawing of lots, the application
filed by such an applicant shall be considered abandoned, and the
Trademark Office shall notify the applicant in writing who does not
participate in the drawing of lots.
Article 20. Where
a priority is claimed in accordance with the provisions of Article
24 of the Trademark Law, the copies of the application documents submitted
by the applicant for the first time for registering the trademark
in question shall be certified by the competent trademark authority
which accepts the said application, and the filing date and serial
number of the application shall be indicated.
Where a priority is claimed in accordance with the provisions of Article
25 of the Trademark Law, the certifying documents submitted by the
applicant shall be authenticated by the institution specified by the
authority of administration for industry and commerce under the State
Council, except that the international exhibition on which the applicant's
goods are displayed is held within Chinese territory.
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Chapter
III Examination of Applications for Trademark Registration
Article
21. The
Trademark Office shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions
of the Trademark Law and these Regulations, examine the applications
for trademark registration it has accepted, granting preliminary approval
to those that are in compliance with the provisions and to the applications
for the registration of trademarks used on some of the designated
goods that are in compliance with the provisions, and publishing them;
the application that is not in compliance with the provisions and
the application for the registration of a trademark used on some of
the designated goods that is not in compliance with the provisions
shall be refused, the applicant shall be notified in writing and the
reasons therefor shall be given.
Where the Trademark Office grants preliminary approval to an application
for the registration of a trademark used on some of the designated
goods, the applicant may, before the date on which the opposition
period expires, apply to abandon the application for the registration
of the trademark used on some of the designated goods; where the applicant
abandons the application for the registration of a trademark used
on some of the designated goods, the Trademark Office shall withdraw
the previous preliminary approval, terminate the examination proceedings
and republish it.
Article
22. Where
an opposition is filed against a trademark which has been preliminarily
approved and published by the Trademark Office, the opponent shall
submit in duplicate an Application for Trademark Opposition to the
Trademark Office. The Application for Trademark Opposition shall specify
both the issue number of the Trademark Gazette in which the opposed
trademark is published and the number of the preliminary approval.
The Application for Trademark Opposition shall state the requests
and grounds in plain terms, and the relevant evidence shall be attached
thereto.
The Trademark
Office shall promptly send a copy of the Application for Trademark
Opposition to the opposed party, who shall be requested to make a
response within 30 days from the date of receipt of the copy of the
Application for Trademark Opposition. If the opposed party fails to
make a response, it shall not affect the Trademark Office's ruling
of the opposition.
Where a party needs to supplement related evidence after filing an
application of opposition or making a response, it shall make a statement
for this purpose in the application or in the response made in writing,
and submit the said evidence within three months from the date on
which the application is filed or the response is made in writing;
if no evidence is submitted at the expiry of the time limit, the party
shall be considered given up the supplementing of related evidence.
Article
23. A
justified opposition referred to in the second paragraph of Article
34 of the Trademark Law shall include the opposition that is justified
for some of the designated goods. If an opposition is justified for
some of the designated goods, the application for the registration
of the trademark on this part of the designated goods shall not be
approved.
Where an opposed trademark is already published as a registered trademark
prior to the entry into force of the ruling on the opposition, the
publishing of the registration shall be canceled, and the trademark
the registration of which has been approved upon the ruling of the
opposition shall be republished.
Where the registration of a trademark has been approved upon the ruling
of an opposition, from the date of expiration of the opposition period
to the date of entry into force of the ruling on the opposition, it
shall have no retroactive effect on the use by another party of the
marks that are identical or similar to the said trademark on the same
or similar goods. However, the user shall make compensation for any
loss suffered by the trademark registrant as a result of the user's
bad faith.
Where the registration of a trademark has been approved upon the ruling
of an opposition, the period for filing an application for review
and adjudication thereof shall be counted from the date on which the
ruling on the opposition to the said trademark is published.
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Chapter
IV Modification, Assignment and Renewal of Registered Trademarks
Article
24. Where
the name or address of a trademark registrant or any other registration
matter is to be modified, the applicant shall submit an application
for modification to the Trademark Office. The Trademark Office shall,
upon approval, issue a corresponding certification to the trademark
registrant and publish the modification; if no approval is granted,
the applicant shall be notified in writing and the reasons therefor
shall be given.
Where the name of a trademark registrant is to be modified, the modification
certification issued by the relevant registration authorities shall
be also submitted. If the modification certification is not submitted,
it may be submitted within 30 days from the date on which the application
is filed; if it is not submitted at the expiry of the time limit,
the application for modification shall be considered abandoned and
the Trademark Office shall notify the applicant in writing.
Where the name or address of a trademark registrant is to be modified,
the trademark registrant shall make the modification in respect of
all its registered trademarks in a lump; if they are not so modified,
the application for modification shall be considered abandoned and
the Trademark Office shall notify the applicant in writing.
Article
25. When
a registered trademark is to be assigned, both the assignor and assignee
shall jointly send an application for assignment of the registered
trademark to the Trademark Office. The assignee shall go through the
formalities for the application for assignment of the registered trademark.
The Trademark Office shall, upon approval of the application for assignment
of the registered trademark, issue the assignee a corresponding certification
and publish the assignment.
Where a registered trademark is to be assigned, the trademark registrant
shall assign in a lump all of its trademarks that are identical or
similar to each other in respect of the same or similar goods; if
they are not so assigned, the Trademark Office shall notify it to
rectify the situation within a specified time limit; if it fails to
rectify it at the expiry of the said time limit, the application for
assignment of the registered trademark shall be considered abandoned,
and the Trademark Office shall notify the applicant in writing.
With respect to applications for the assignment of registered trademarks,
which may produce misleading, confusing or other adverse effects,
the Trademark Office shall refuse them, and shall notify the applicants
in writing and give the reasons therefor.
Article
26. Where
the exclusive right to use a registered trademark is transferred due
to the reasons other than assignment, the party who accepts the transfer
of the exclusive right to use the registered trademark shall, by producing
the relevant evidential documents or legal instruments, go through
the formalities of the transfer of the exclusive right to use the
registered trademark with the Trademark Office.
Where the exclusive right to use a registered trademark is transferred,
the right holder shall assign in a lump all of its trademarks that
are identical or similar to each other in respect of the same or similar
goods; if they are not so transferred, the Trademark Office shall
notify it to rectify the situation within a specified time limit;
if it fails to rectify it at the expiry of the said time limit, the
application for transfer of the registered trademark shall be considered
abandoned, and the Trademark Office shall notify the applicant in
writing.
Article
27. Where
the registration of a registered trademark needs to be renewed, an
application for renewal of registration of the trademark shall be
submitted to the Trademark Office. The Trademark Office shall, upon
approval of the application for renewal of registration of the trademark,
issue a corresponding certification and publish the renewal.
The period of validity of a renewed trademark registration shall be
calculated from the day following the expiration of the previous period
of validity of such a trademark.
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Chapter
V Review and Adjudication of Trademarks
Article
28. The
Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall accept applications
for trademark review and adjudication filed under Articles 32, 33,
41 and 49 of the Trademark Law. The Trademark Review and Adjudication
Board shall, on the basis of facts, conduct review and adjudication
according to law.
Article
29. As
referred to in the third paragraph of Article 41 of the Trademark
Law, "a dispute against a registered trademark" means that a prior
trademark registrant believes that a trademark registered later by
another party is identical or similar to its registered trademark
in respect of the same or similar goods.
Article
30. When
applying for trademark review and adjudication, an application shall
be submitted to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, accompanied
with the copies corresponding to the number of the other party. If
an application for review and adjudication is filed on the basis of
the decision or the ruling made by the Trademark Office, the copies
of such decision or ruling shall also be filed.
Upon receiving the application, the Trademark Review and Adjudication
Board shall, upon examination, accept it if the requirements for acceptance
are satisfied; if the requirements for acceptance are not satisfied,
it shall not accept the application, and shall notify the applicant
in writing and give the reasons therefor. If the application needs
to be supplemented or corrected, the applicant shall be notified to
make supplements or corrections within 30 days from the date of receipt
of the notification. If, after being supplemented or corrected, the
application still does not conform to the provisions, the Trademark
Review and Adjudication Board shall refuse it, and notify the applicant
in writing and give the reasons therefor; if no supplements or corrections
are made at the expiry of the specified time limit, the application
shall be considered withdrawn and the Trademark Review and Adjudication
Board shall notify the applicant in writing.
If the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board finds that an application
does not satisfy the requirements for acceptance after it has accepted
the application, it shall refuse the application, notify the applicant
in writing and give the reasons therefor.
Article
31. The
Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall, upon the acceptance
of the application for trademark review and adjudication, send in
time the copy of the application to the other party, who shall be
required to make a response within 30 days from the date of receipt
of such copy. If no response is made at the expiry of the time limit,
it shall not affect the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board's
review and adjudication.
Article
32. Where
a party needs to supplement related evidence after filing an application
for review and adjudication or making a response, a statement for
this purpose shall be made in the application or in the response,
and the said evidence shall be submitted within three months from
the date on which the application is filed or the response is made;
if no evidence is submitted at the expiry of the time limit, the party
shall be considered given up the supplementing of related evidence.
Article
33. The
Trademark Review and Adjudication Board may, at the request of a party
or on the basis of the practical needs, decide to review and adjudicate
an application for review and adjudication in public session.
Where the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board decides to review
and adjudicate the application for review and adjudication in public
session, it shall notify in writing the parties 15 days before the
public review and adjudication, informing them of the date, venue
and persons conducting the public review and adjudication. The parties
shall make a response within the time limit specified in the written
notice.
Where the applicant does not make a response nor appear at the public
review and adjudication, its application for review and adjudication
shall be considered withdrawn, and the Trademark Review and Adjudication
Board shall notify the applicant in writing. If the other party does
not make a response nor appear at the public review and adjudication,
the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board may conduct the review
and adjudication by default.
Article
34. Where
an applicant requests to withdraw its application before the Trademark
Review and Adjudication Board makes a decision or ruling, it may withdraw
its application after making an explanation of the reasons therefor
in writing to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board; where an
application is withdrawn, the review and adjudication proceedings
shall be terminated.
Article
35. Where
an application for trademark review and adjudication has been withdrawn,
the applicant shall not file another application for review and adjudication
on the basis of the same facts and grounds. Where the Trademark Review
and Adjudication Board has already made a decision or ruling on an
application for trademark review and adjudication, no one shall file
another application for review and adjudication on the basis of the
same facts and grounds.
Article
36. Where
a registered trademark is canceled pursuant to Article 41 of the Trademark
Law, the exclusive right to use the said trademark shall be deemed
as not existing from the very beginning. A decision or ruling on canceling
a registered trademark shall have no retroactive effect on any judgment
or order on any trademark infringement case made and already enforced
by the people's court before the cancellation, nor on any decision
on any trademark infringement case made and already enforced by the
authority of administration for industry and commerce before the cancellation,
and nor on any trademark assignment contract or trademark license
contract already performed before the cancellation. However, the trademark
registrant shall compensate any loss caused to another person due
to its bad faith.
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Chapter
VI Administration of the Use of Trademarks
Article
37. Where
a registered trademark is used, the characters "
"
or a registration mark may be indicated on goods, packages of goods,
descriptions of goods or other ancillary items.
The registration mark includes
and ®, which, in the use of such registration mark, shall be placed
on the upper or lower right-hand corner.
Article
38. Where
a Certificate of Trademark Registration is lost or damaged, an application
for reissuance shall be filed with the Trademark Office. Where a Certificate
of Trademark Registration is lost, a loss declaration shall be published
in the Trademark Gazette. The damaged Certificate of Trademark Registration
shall be sent back to the Trademark Office when the application for
reissuance is submitted.
Where a Certificate of Trademark Registration is forged or altered,
criminal liability shall be investigated for according to the provisions
of the criminal law on the crime of forging or altering certificates
of State organs or other crimes.
Article
39. With
respect to any of the acts referred to in Article 44 (1), (2) and
(3) of the Trademark Law, the authority of administration for industry
and commerce shall order the trademark registrant to rectify the situation
within a specified time limit; where there is a refusal to rectify,
it shall report to the Trademark Office for the cancellation of the
registered trademark.
With respect to the act referred to in Article 44 (4) of the Trademark
Law, any person may apply to the Trademark Office for the cancellation
of such registered trademark, and state the relevant circumstances.
The Trademark Office shall notify the trademark registrant to, within
two months from the date of receipt of the notification, provide evidence
of use of the trademark prior to the submission of the application
for cancellation, or explain proper reasons for non-use. If, at the
expiry of the time limit, no evidence of use is provided or the evidence
provided is invalid and there are no proper reasons for non-use, the
Trademark Office shall cancel the registered trademark.
The evidence referred to in the preceding paragraph includes the evidence
of use of the registered trademark by the trademark registrant and
the evidence of licensing another person by the trademark registrant
to use its registered trademark.
Article
40. For
a registered trademark canceled under Article 44 or 45 of the Trademark
Law, the Trademark Office shall publish it, and the exclusive right
to use the said registered trademark shall be terminated from the
date on which the Trademark Office makes the decision of cancellation.
Article
41. Where
a registered trademark is canceled by the Trademark Office or the
Trademark Review and Adjudication Board and the grounds for the cancellation
involve some of the designated goods only, the registered trademark
used on such goods shall be canceled.
Article
42. The
amount of a fine imposed under Articles 45 and 48 of the Trademark
Law shall be not more than 20% of the volume of the illegal business
or not more than two times of the profit illegally earned.
The amount of a fine imposed under Article 47 of the Trademark Law
shall be not more than 10% of the volume of the illegal business.
Article
43. Where
licensing another person to use its registered trademark, the licensor
shall, within three months from the date of conclusion of the license
contract, submit the copy of the contract to the Trademark Office
for the record.
Article
44. Where
anyone violates the provisions of the second paragraph of Article
40 of the Trademark Law, the authority of administration for industry
and commerce shall order it to make corrections within a specified
time limit, or seize the representations of its trademark if no corrections
are made at the expiry of the specified time limit. Where it is impossible
to separate the representations of the trademark from the goods involved,
both of them shall be seized and destroyed.
Article
45. Where
the use of a trademark is in violation of the provisions of Article
13 of the Trademark Law, the party concerned may request the authority
of administration for industry and commerce to prohibit such use.
When filing an application for this purpose, the party shall submit
evidence proving that its mark constitutes a well-known trademark.
If the mark is determined as a well-known trademark by the Trademark
Office pursuant to Article 14 of the Trademark Law, the authority
of administration for industry and commerce shall order the infringer
to stop the act of using the well-known trademark in violation of
the provisions of Article 13 of the Trademark Law, seize and destroy
the representations of the trademark; where it is impossible to separate
the representations of the trademark from the goods involved, both
of them shall be seized and destroyed.
Article
46. A
trademark registrant applying for the removal of its registered trademark
or for the removal of the registration of its trademark used on some
of the designated goods from the Trademark Register shall submit an
application for the removal of the trademark to the Trademark Office
and return the original Certificate of Trademark Registration.
Where a trademark registrant applies for the removal of its registered
trademark or the removal of the registration of its trademark on some
of the designated goods from the Trademark Register, the exclusive
right to use the registered trademark or the effect of the exclusive
right to use the registered trademark on some of the designated goods
shall be terminated from the date on which the Trademark Office receives
the application for removal.
Article
47. Where
a trademark registrant dies or terminates, each and every person may,
at the expiry of one year from the date of death or termination, apply
to the Trademark Office for the removal of the registered trademark
in question from the Trademark Register if no formalities of transfer
have been conducted with respect to the registered trademark. When
applying for the removal, the applicant shall submit the evidence
certifying the death or termination of the trademark registrant.
Where a registered trademark is removed from the Trademark Register
due to the death or termination of the trademark registrant, the exclusive
right to use the registered trademark shall cease from the date of
death or termination of the trademark registrant.
Article
48. Where
a registered trademark is canceled or removed from the Trademark Register
as provided in Articles 46 and 47 of these Regulations, the original
Certificate of Trademark Registration shall become invalid. Where
the registration of the trademark on some of the designated goods
is canceled or the trademark registrant applies for the removal of
the registration of its trademark on some of the designated goods
from the Trademark Register, the Trademark Office shall make a note
on the original Certificate of Trademark Registration and return it
to the registrant, or reissue the Certificate of Trademark Registration
and publish it.
Go Top
Chapter
VII Protection of the Exclusive Right to Use a Registered Trademark
Article
49. Where
a registered trademark consists of the generic name, design or model
of the goods in question, or directly shows the quality, main raw
materials, functions, intended purposes, weight, quantity or other
characteristics of the goods in question, or consists of geographical
names, the proprietor of the exclusive right to use the registered
trademark shall have no right to prohibit the fair use thereof by
another person.
Article
50. Any
of the following acts shall constitute an infringement on the exclusive
right to use a registered trademark referred to in Article 52 (5)
of the Trademark Law:
(1) using any signs which are identical or similar to another person's
registered trademark as the name of the goods or decoration of the
goods on the same or similar goods, thus misleading the public;
(2) intentionally providing facilities such as storage, transport,
mailing, concealing, etc. for the purpose of infringing another person's
exclusive right to use a registered trademark.
Article
51. Where
the exclusive right to use a registered trademark is infringed upon,
each and every person may lodge a complaint with or report the case
to the authority of administration for industry and commerce.
Article
52. The
amount of a fine imposed on an act infringing the exclusive right
to use a registered trademark shall be not more than three times of
the volume of the illegal business. If it is impossible to calculate
the volume of the illegal business, the amount of the fine shall be
not more than 100,000 Yuan.
Article
53. A
trademark owner who believes that the registration of its well-known
trademark as an enterprise name by another person is likely to deceive
or mislead the public may apply to the competent registration authorities
of enterprise names for the cancellation of the registration of the
enterprise name. The competent registration authorities of enterprise
names shall handle the case in accordance with the Provisions on Administration
of Enterprise Name Registration.
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Chapter
VIII Supplementary Provisions
Article
54. Service
marks continuously in use to July 1, 1993, which are identical or
similar to any registered service marks of another person for the
same or similar services, may continue to be used; however, if such
use is suspended for a period of three years or more after July 1,
1993, it shall not be used any longer.
Article
55. The
specific measures for the administration of trademark agency shall
be separately formulated by the State Council.
Article
56. The
Classification of Goods and Services for trademark registration shall
be worked out and published by the authority of administration for
industry and commerce under the State Council.
The format of the documents for applying for trademark registration
or for handling other trademark matters shall be determined and published
by the authority of administration for industry and commerce under
the State Council.
The rules on review and adjudication to be followed by the Trademark
Review and Adjudication Board shall be formulated and promulgated
by the authority of administration for industry and commerce under
the State Council.
Article
57. The
Trademark Office shall establish and keep the Trademark Register recording
registered trademarks and other registration matters.
The Trademark Office shall compile and issue the Trademark Gazette
publishing trademark registration and other related matters.
Article
58. Fees
shall be paid for applying for trademark registration or for handling
other trademark matters. The items and standards for collecting fees
shall be prescribed and published by the authority of administration
for industry and commerce under the State Council jointly with the
competent department for pricing of the State Council.
Article
59. These
Regulations shall become effective as of September 15, 2002. The Rules
for the Implementation of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic
of China, which was promulgated by the State Council on March 10,
1983, revised for the first time with the approval of the State Council
on January 3, 1988 and revised for the second time with the approval
of the State Council on July 15, 1993, and the Official Reply from
the State Council Concerning Papers Furnished as Attachments to Applications
for Trademark Registration, which was issued on April 23, 1995, shall
be repealed simultaneously.
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