Eight things you need to know about the new Trademark Law
September 05, 2013 | BY
clpstaff &clp articles &It has taken three readings over two years, but the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has finally promulgated the long-awaited Trademark Law. Yao Di and Ding Xianjie look at the key changes and how they will affect brand owners
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the third amendment to the PRC Trademark Law (中华人民共和国商标法)(Revised Trademark Law) on August 30 2013. The revised Trademark Law will be implemented on May 1 2014.
Although it has its critics, this Revised Trademark Law responds to the public concern on complex trademark prosecution procedures, rampant bad faith trademark squatting and the difficulty of protecting trademarks.
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1) Expansion of non-traditional trademark registration
The Revised Trademark Law proposes to accept non-traditional trademark registrations to cover sound.
This enlargement of the trademark family may attract a lot of new filings from those countries where sound marks have already been able to be registered. The relevant examination procedure is expected to be released by the China Trademark Office (CTMO) and this procedure will be the next focus of public attention.
Unfortunately, the Revised Trademark Law failed to cover single colour trademark registration, which was under heated discussion during this revision process.
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2) Procedure facilitation
Time-limit
This revision will be the first time in PRC Trademark Law history that a statutory time-limit has been set for trademark examinations by both the CTMO and Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB).
| Procedure | Time-limit (months) | Extension (if granted) |
| Trademark application | 9 | N/A |
| Review on rejection | 9 | 3 |
| Opposition | 12 | 6 |
| Review on opposition filed by trademark applicant | 12 | 6 |
| Invalidation on absolute ground | 9 | 3 |
| Review on invalidation decision made by CTMO on absolute grounds | 9 | 3 |
| Invalidation on relative grounds | 12 | 6 |
| Cancellation in TMO | 9 | 3 |
| Review on cancellation by TRAB | 9 | 3 |
E-filing
The CTMO has been allowing electronic filings for several years through a trial pilot programme. However, this practice is now officially and explicitly written into the Revised Trademark Law.
Multi-class application
The Revised Trademark Law also simplifies the registration procedure by allowing an applicant to submit one application for a trademark in multiple classes. Current practice only allows the filing of one trademark in one class and additional trademark applications were required for additional classes.
Administrative actions
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