Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China — Full English Translation (2019 Amendment)

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted for the purposes of strengthening trademark administration, protecting the exclusive right to use trademarks, urging producers and dealers to guarantee the quality of goods and services, maintaining the reputation of trademarks, protecting the interests of consumers and producers and dealers, and promoting the development of the socialist market economy.

Article 2 The Trademark Office of the State Council shall be responsible for trademark registration and administration nationwide. The industrial and commercial administrative departments of the State Council shall establish a Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to handle trademark disputes.

Article 3 A registered trademark means a trademark that has been approved and registered by the Trademark Office, including a commodity trademark, service mark, collective mark, and certification mark. The trademark registrant shall enjoy the exclusive right to use the trademark, which shall be protected by law.

Article 4 Any natural person, legal person, or other organization that needs to obtain the exclusive right to use a trademark for its goods or services in the course of production and business operations shall apply to the Trademark Office for trademark registration. Bad-faith applications for trademark registration without intent to use shall be rejected.

Article 5 Two or more natural persons, legal persons, or other organizations may jointly apply to the Trademark Office for registration of the same trademark and jointly enjoy and exercise the exclusive right to use the trademark.

Article 6 A trademark that has been approved and registered shall be indicated with ‘Registered Trademark’ or a registration symbol. A trademark agency shall follow the principle of good faith, comply with laws and administrative regulations, and handle trademark registration applications and other trademark matters as entrusted by the principal.

Article 7 Any applicant or registrant using a trademark shall be responsible for the quality of the goods on which the trademark is used. The industrial and commercial administrative departments at all levels shall, through trademark administration, stop fraudulent practices with respect to the quality of goods and services.

Article 8 Any sign, including words, devices, letters, numerals, three-dimensional signs, combinations of colors, sounds, or any combination thereof, that is capable of distinguishing the goods of a natural person, legal person, or other organization from those of others may be applied for registration as a trademark.

Article 9 A trademark applying for registration shall have distinctive characteristics, be easy to identify, and shall not conflict with the lawful rights previously obtained by others. A trademark registrant shall have the right to indicate ‘Registered Trademark’ or a registration symbol.

Chapter II: Application for Trademark Registration

Article 10 An applicant for trademark registration shall indicate the class of goods and the designation of goods on which the trademark is to be used in accordance with the prescribed classification of goods. An applicant may apply to register the same trademark for goods in multiple classes in one application.

Article 11 An applicant for trademark registration may file one application for the registration of the same trademark for goods of different classes. An applicant may apply for registration of the same trademark for multiple classes of goods in one application.

Article 12 Where a registered trademark is to be used on other goods of the same class, a new application for registration shall be filed. Where the sign of a registered trademark is to be changed, a new application for registration shall be filed.

Article 13 Where a change is to be made in the name, address, or other registered matters of a trademark registrant, an application for the change shall be filed.

Article 14 A trademark registrant or an applicant for trademark registration may claim priority based on a prior application for registration of the same trademark for the same goods filed in a foreign country within six months from the date of filing of the prior application.

Article 15 Where a trademark is used for the first time on goods displayed at an international exhibition sponsored or recognized by the Chinese government, the applicant may claim priority within six months from the date on which the goods were displayed at the exhibition.

Chapter III: Examination and Approval of Trademark Registration

Article 16 The Trademark Office shall complete examination of a trademark registration application within nine months from the date of receiving the application documents. Where the application complies with the relevant provisions of this Law, the Trademark Office shall make a preliminary examination and approval decision and publish the same.

Article 17 Where an application for trademark registration does not comply with the relevant provisions of this Law or is identical with or similar to a trademark that has been registered or preliminarily approved by others for the same or similar goods, the Trademark Office shall reject the application and shall not publish the same.

Article 18 Where two or more applicants apply for registration of identical or similar trademarks for the same or similar goods, the trademark with the earliest filing date shall be preliminarily approved and published. Where the applications are filed on the same day, the trademark with the earliest use shall be preliminarily approved and published.

Article 19 Any person may file an opposition with the Trademark Office against a preliminarily approved trademark within three months from the date of publication. The Trademark Office shall hear the statements of the opposing party and the opposed party.

Article 20 Where no opposition is filed against a preliminarily approved trademark after the expiration of the publication period, the Trademark Office shall approve the registration, issue a trademark registration certificate, and publish the same. The exclusive right to use a registered trademark shall commence from the date of the announcement of the registration.

Article 21 Where an opposition is filed against a preliminarily approved trademark, the Trademark Office shall make a decision within 12 months from the expiration of the publication period after hearing the statements. Where the opposition is sustained, the registration shall not be approved.

Article 22 Where a party is dissatisfied with the decision of the Trademark Office on an opposition, the party may apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for review within 15 days from the date of receiving the notification.

Chapter IV: Renewal, Assignment and Licensing of Registered Trademarks

Article 23 The term of validity of a registered trademark shall be 10 years, counted from the date of approval of registration. Where a trademark registrant intends to continue to use the registered trademark after the expiration of the term of validity, the registrant shall go through the renewal procedure within 12 months before the expiration.

Article 24 A trademark registrant may assign the registered trademark to another person. The assignor and the assignee shall conclude an assignment agreement and jointly file an application with the Trademark Office. The assignee shall guarantee the quality of the goods on which the trademark is used.

Article 25 A trademark registrant may, by concluding a trademark license contract, authorize another person to use the registered trademark. The licensor shall supervise the quality of the goods on which the licensee uses the registered trademark.

Article 26 A trademark license contract shall be submitted to the Trademark Office for the record. Where a trademark license is not recorded, it shall not be invoked against a bona fide third party.

Chapter V: Declaration of Invalidation of Registered Trademarks

Article 27 Where a registered trademark violates the provisions on prohibited signs or lacks distinctive characteristics, or was acquired by deception or other improper means, the Trademark Office shall declare the registered trademark invalid. Any entity or individual may request the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to declare the registered trademark invalid.

Article 28 Where a registered trademark falls under any of the circumstances provided in Articles 13, 15, 16, 30, 31, or 32 of this Law, the prior right holder or interested party may, within five years from the date of registration of the trademark, request the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to declare the registered trademark invalid. For bad-faith registrations, the owner of a well-known trademark shall not be subject to the five-year time limit.

Article 29 Where the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board makes a ruling to maintain or declare invalid a registered trademark, it shall notify the parties in writing. Where a party is dissatisfied with the ruling, the party may institute legal proceedings in a people’s court within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notification.

Chapter VI: Administration of the Use of Trademarks

Article 30 In using a registered trademark, the trademark registrant shall not change the registered trademark, the name or address of the registrant, or other registered matters on its own. Where a registered trademark has not been used for three consecutive years without justifiable reason, any entity or individual may apply to the Trademark Office for cancellation of the registered trademark.

Article 31 Where the Trademark Office decides to cancel a registered trademark in accordance with this Law, the exclusive right to use the registered trademark shall be terminated from the date of the announcement of the cancellation.

Article 32 Where a party is dissatisfied with the decision of the Trademark Office to cancel a registered trademark, the party may apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for review within 15 days from the date of receiving the notification.

Article 33 Anyone may apply to the Trademark Office for cancellation of a registered trademark that has become the generic name of the goods on which it is used, or has not been used for three consecutive years without justifiable reason.

Chapter VII: Protection of Exclusive Right to Use Registered Trademarks

Article 34 The exclusive right to use a registered trademark is limited to the trademark that has been approved and registered and the goods on which the use of the trademark has been approved. Any of the following acts shall constitute infringement of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark: (1) using a trademark identical with a registered trademark on the same kind of goods without the permission of the trademark registrant; (2) using a trademark similar to a registered trademark on the same kind of goods, or using a trademark identical with or similar to a registered trademark on similar goods, which is likely to cause confusion.

Article 35 Where a dispute arises over infringement of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark, the parties shall resolve the dispute through consultation. Where the parties are unwilling or unable to resolve the dispute through consultation, the trademark registrant or an interested party may institute legal proceedings in a people’s court or request the industrial and commercial administrative department to handle the matter.

Article 36 The industrial and commercial administrative department may, when handling a trademark infringement case, take the following measures: (1) questioning the parties concerned and investigating the circumstances relating to the infringement; (2) accessing and copying the contracts, invoices, account books, and other materials relating to the infringement; (3) conducting on-site inspection of the premises where the suspected infringement is committed; (4) sealing up or seizing the articles involved in the infringement.

Article 37 Where the industrial and commercial administrative department determines that an act of infringement is constituted, it shall order the infringer to immediately stop the infringing act, and shall confiscate and destroy the infringing goods and the tools primarily used for manufacturing the infringing goods or counterfeiting the registered trademark.

Article 38 The amount of compensation for trademark infringement shall be determined based on the actual losses suffered by the right holder, the benefits gained by the infringer, or a reasonable multiple of the trademark license fee. For intentional infringement with serious circumstances, the amount of compensation may be determined as not less than one time but not more than five times the amount. Where it is difficult to determine, the people’s court may award compensation of not more than RMB 5,000,000.

Article 39 The people’s court may, at the request of the trademark registrant or interested party, order the destruction of goods bearing a counterfeit registered trademark and the materials and tools primarily used for manufacturing such goods.

Article 40 Where a trademark registrant or interested party has evidence to prove that another person is infringing or is about to infringe the exclusive right to use the registered trademark and that its lawful rights and interests will suffer irreparable damage, it may apply to a people’s court for an order to stop the relevant act and for property preservation.

Article 41 A trademark agency that knows or should know that the trademark entrusted by the principal falls under the circumstances of bad-faith registration shall not accept the entrustment. Where a trademark agency provides agency services knowing that there are bad-faith acts, the industrial and commercial administrative department shall impose punishment.

Article 42 Where a party is dissatisfied with the decision of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, the party may institute legal proceedings in a people’s court within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notification.

Article 43 The amount of compensation for infringement damage shall include reasonable expenses paid by the right holder to stop the infringing act. Where it is truly difficult to determine the actual losses, benefits, or license fee, the people’s court may determine the amount of compensation based on factors such as the extent of the infringement and award compensation of not more than RMB 5,000,000.

Article 44 For the purposes of this Law, ‘well-known trademark’ means a trademark widely known to the relevant public and enjoying a relatively high reputation in China. The owner of a well-known trademark that is infringed may, in accordance with the provisions of this Law, request protection of the well-known trademark.

Chapter VIII: Supplementary Provisions

Article 45 An applicant for trademark registration or a trademark registrant who is dissatisfied with any decision of the Trademark Office may apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for review in accordance with the provisions of this Law. Where the party is dissatisfied with the ruling of the Board, it may institute legal proceedings in a people’s court.

Article 46 A foreigner or foreign enterprise that files an application for trademark registration or handles other trademark matters in China shall entrust a legally established trademark agency to handle the same.

Article 47 Where a person counterfeits a registered trademark of another person without authorization and a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with law. Where a person forges or manufactures without authorization or sells or forges or manufactures without authorization representations of a registered trademark of another person, and a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued.

Article 48 Where a person knowingly sells goods bearing a counterfeit registered trademark and a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with law.