Documents required for registration of trademark in China
The following information and documents should be provided for the registration of trademark:
- Copy of the ID or passport if the applicant is a individual, together with mailing address including postal code, contact person and contact phone number;
- Copy of the official registration document if the applicant is a company. The official registration document should have company name, registration number and company address and should be translated into Chinese;
- Trademark registration documents in other countries/regions if the applicant wants to claim priority according to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property;
- Clear drawing of the trademark in JPG format;
- Classes and indication of the goods/services to be applied for registration according to the Nice Classification.
Claiming convention Priority
According to the trademark law in China, pursuant to the agreement between China and a foreign country or a convention (such as the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property) jointed by China and the foreign country, the applicant in that foreign country enjoys a 6 month priority from the date when he filed an application for the registration of the trademark in a foreign country.
According to the Trademark Law in China, to claim priority, the applicant is required to submit, together with the application in China or within 3 months after the application in China, to the China Trademark Office the first application documents issued by the authority in a foreign country, and the application documents need to be certified by the authority of that foreign country. In addition, the application documents issued by the authority in the foreign country need to be translated into Chinese.
If an applicant claims priority in China, the name of the applicant who files the application in China should be the same as the name of the applicant in the the first application documents issued by the authority in a foreign country.
A fee will be charged for claiming priority for each class.
Apply for cancellation of a registered trademark in China
The following are the reasons for the cancellation of a registered trademark in China:
According to Article 41 of the Trademark Law in China, where a trademark is registered in violation of the provisions of Article 10, 11, or 12 of this Law, or it is registered by deceitful or other illegitimate means, the Trademark Office shall cancel the trademark. Any unit or individual may request that the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board make a ruling to cancel such a registered trademark.
Where a trademark is registered in violation of the provisions of Article 13, 15, 16, or 31 of this Law, the owner of the trademark or any interested party may, within five years from the date the trademark is registered, request that the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board make a ruling to cancel the trademark. Where the trademark is registered with ill will, the owner of the well-known trademark shall not be limited by the five-year period.
In addition to circumstances specified in the preceding two paragraphs, any person who intends to take issue on a registered trademark may, within five years from the date the trademark is registered upon approval, apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for a ruling.
After receiving the application for a ruling, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall notify the parties concerned and ask them to put forward their arguments within a specified time limit.
According to Article 44 of the above law,where a trademark user ceases the use of the registered trademark for three consecutive years, the Trademark Office shall order it to rectify the situation within a time limit or revoke the registered trademark.
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NOTICE: The material contained herein is in the nature of general comment and information ONLY and neither purports, nor is intended, to be advising on any particular matter. Readers should not act or rely upon any matter or information contained in or implied by the publication without taking appropriate professional advice.
