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REGULATIONS
FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRADEMARK LAW
(Promulgated by Decree No. 358 of the State Council of the People's
Republic of China on August 3, 2002, and effective as of September
15, 2002)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Application for Trademark Registration
Chapter III Examination of Application for Trademark
Registration
Chapter IV Modification, Assignment and Renewal of Registered
Trademark
Chapter V Trademark Review and Adjudication
ChapterVI Administration of the Use of Trademarks
ChapterVII Protection of the Exclusive Right to Use a
Registered Trademark
ChapterVIII Supplementary Provisions
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.
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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 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Chapter VI Administration of the Use of Trademarks
Article 37 Where a registered trademark
is used, the characters "廣過斌炎" 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.
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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.
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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 berepealed simultaneously.
(Translation by the Trademark Office of the State Administration
for Industry and Commerce of the People's Republic of China)
(In case of discrepancy, the original version
in Chinese shall prevail.)
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