Trademark Law of China was promulgated in 1982, and amended in 1993, 2001, 2013 and 2019 respectively. The latest revision entered into force on 1 Nov. 2019.
There are 73 articles in total. The Law aims to regulate the registration of trademarks and protect the exclusive right to the use of registered trademarks.
The key points are as follows:
The Trademark Office of the administrative department for industry and commerce under the State Council shall be in charge of the work of trademark registration and administration throughout the country.
The administrative department for industry and commerce under the State Council shall establish the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to be responsible for handling trademark disputes.
Registered trademarks refer to trademarks that are registered with the approval of the Trademark Office, including trademarks for goods and services, collective trademarks and certification trademarks. The owner of a registered trademark shall enjoy the exclusive right to the use of the trademark, which shall be protected by law.
Where a foreigner or foreign enterprise applies for trademark registration in China, the matter shall be handled in accordance with any agreement concluded between the country to which the applicant belongs and the People’s Republic of China, or any international treaty to which both countries are parties, or pursuant to the principle of reciprocity.
Where a foreigner or foreign enterprise applies for trademark registration in China, the matter shall be handled in accordance with any agreement concluded between the country to which the applicant belongs and the People’s Republic of China, or any international treaty to which both countries are parties, or pursuant to the principle of reciprocity.
When addressing the dispute, if the administrative department for industry and commerce is of the opinion that the infringement is established, it shall order the relevant party to immediately cease the infringing acts, and shall confiscate and destroy the infringing goods and instruments mainly used for manufacturing the infringing goods and forging the registered trademark. Where the illegal business revenue is CNY 50,000 or more, a fine of up to five times the illegal business revenue may be imposed thereon; where there is no illegal business revenue or the illegal business revenue is less than CNY 50,000, a fine of up to CNY 250,000 may be imposed thereon.
The amount of damages for infringement on the exclusive right to use a trademark shall be determined based on the actual loss suffered by the right holder as a result of the infringement; if it is difficult to determine the actual loss, the amount of damages may be determined according to the profits gained therefrom by the infringer, if it is difficult to determine both the loss of the right holder and the profits gained by the infringing party, the amount of damages may be reasonably determined in reference to the multiples of the trademark for royalties. Where an infringer infringes upon another party’s exclusive right to use a trademark in bad faith and falls under serious circumstances, the amount of damages may be determined as not less than one time but not more than five times the amount that is determined according to the aforesaid methods. The amount of damages shall cover the reasonable expenses paid by the right holder for stopping the infringing act.
Where it is difficult to determine the actual loss suffered by the right holder as a result of the infringement, the profits gained by the infringer from the infringement or the royalties of the registered trademark concerned, the people’s court shall render a judgment awarding damages in an amount not more than CNY 5,000,000 based on the circumstances of the infringing acts.