The Trademark Review Rules were promulgated on 2 Nov. 1995, and amended in 2002, 2005 and 2014 respectively. The latest revision entered into force on 1 June 2014.
There are 60 articles in total, which aim to stipulate how shall the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (hereinafter referred to as “the TRAB”) of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce process trademark review and adjudication cases.
The key points are as follows:
The trademark review and adjudication cases processed by the TRAB mean that the parties concerned request the examination of the corresponding trademarks for the following reasons: (1) not satisfied with the TRAB’s decision of denying a trademark registration application; (2) not satisfied with the TRAB’s decision of denying a trademark registration; (3) application made for the invalidation of a registered trademark; (4) not satisfied with the TRAB’s decision of declaring a registered trademark invalid; (5) not satisfied with the TRAB’s decision of revoking or not revoking a registered trademark.
If a foreign individual or foreign enterprise has a habitual residence or business office in China, they may by themselves or entrust a trademark agency to handle the trademark review and adjudication; if they have no habitual residence or business office in China, they shall entrust a trademark agency established according to the law to handle the trademark review and adjudication.