China revises trademark law to reduce registration and assertion time

October 11, 2007

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce is conducting a pre-research on the third revision of the China Trademark Law. The revision will emphasize on shortening the period of registration and assertion in an effort to simplify procedures and benefit involved parties.
According to a colloquium held in Beijing on August 23 to mark the 25th anniversary of the implementation of China Trademark Law, the revision has been included in this year’s legislation plan of the Office of Legislative Affairs under the State Council and it should be revved up and proposed as soon as the conditions are mature.

The period of registration of trademark is too long---currently, it takes several years for registering a trademark, and the procedure of asserting party’s right is also too complicated---generally, it includes five steps, meanwhile the development of international trademark law also puts forward new demands for China’s trademark law legislation, the Deputy-director of the Office of Legislative Affairs under the State Council Wang yongqing said.

According to Wang, the third revision of the Trademark Law will simplify the procedures to benefit parties, shorten period of trademark registration and assertion, enforce the protection of the exclusive right of registration trademarks, and will also acclimatize China to the development of international trademark legislation and satisfy the large quantities of requirements for Chinese trademarks going abroad.

The Office of Legislative Affairs will closely cooperate with related departments to conduct the research and draft of the revision smoothly and efficiently, and the revision draft will be reviewed in time once being reported to the State Council, and it will be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for reviewing as soon as possible, Wang said.