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Laws & Regulations
Regulations for the Implementation
of the Trademark Law
Chapter
I General Provisions
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 and 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 provision 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 geographic 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 scope
of powers; the Power of Attorney of a foreigner or foreign
enterprise shallalso 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 a 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;
(3) if he has an interest with the application for trademark
registration or the handling of other trademark matters.
Article 10 Except otherwise provided
for 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 deal with in accordance
with the relevant international treaties to which China
has acceded. The specific measures therefore shall be
formulated by the authority of administration for industry
and commerce under the State Council.
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 clean durable paper
or use photographs as a substitute, and the length and
the breadth of which shall be not more than 10 cm and
not less than 5 cm 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 for 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 therefore.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 thirty days from 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 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 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.
Chapter III Examination of Application 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 therefore 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 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 cancelled,
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 with 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.
Chapter IV Modification, Assignment and Renewal of Trademark
Registration
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 registrantand publish
the modification; if no approval is granted, the applicant
shall be notified in writing and the reasons thereof
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 al of its trademarks that are
identical with 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 therefore.
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 shallassign in a lump all of its trademarks
that are identical with 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.
Chapter V Trademark Review and Adjudication
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 with
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 thereof. 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 thereof; 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
and notify the applicant in writing and give the reasons
thereof.
Article 31 The Trademark Review and
Adjudication Board shall, upon the acceptance of the
application for trademark review and adjudication, send
in timethe 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 review and adjudication of the Trademark
Review and Adjudication Board.
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
neither makes a response nor appears at the public review
and adjudication, its application review and adjudication
shall be considered withdrawn, and the Trademark Review
and Adjudication Board shall notify the applicant in
writing. If the other party neither make a response
nor appears 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 therefore 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 cancelled 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.
Chapter VI Administration of the Use of Trademarks
Article 37 Where a registered trademark
is used, the characters "×¢²áÉ̱ê" or a registered
trademark" 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 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 the 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 Articles 44 and 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 cancelled 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
cancelled.
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 the fine imposed under Article 47 of the Trademark
Law shall be not more than 10% 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. Whereit 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
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,
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 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 form 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 cancelled 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 cancelled 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.
Chapter VII Protection of the Exclusive Right to Use
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 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 with 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; or (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 no 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.
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Article 54 Service marks continuously
in use to July 1, 1993, which are identical with 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 fortrademark registration
or 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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