Combating Malicious Trademark Registration to Help Optimize the Business Environment. The Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office of China held a seminar on the review practices of combating malicious trademark registration in Beijing.
On December 20, the Trademark Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) held a seminar in Beijing on the practical examination of combating malicious trademark registration. Xia Qing, a second-level inspector of the Trademark Office of the CNIPA, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. More than 200 representatives from enterprises and trademark agencies were invited to participate in the event.
At the meeting, the Trademark Office introduced the measures and achievements in the reform of trademark registration facilitation and the crackdown on malicious trademark registration, interpreting the practical examination of combating malicious registration from the perspectives of examination, opposition, and review. The meeting invited judges from the Beijing Intellectual Property Court to explain cases in detail, providing an in-depth interpretation of cases where judicial procedures combat malicious registration. The meeting made requirements for trademark agencies to operate legally, and 160 representatives from trademark agencies issued an initiative to implement the new Trademark Law and prohibit malicious registration.
Since 2018, in order to further strengthen intellectual property protection and better optimize the business environment, the Trademark Office has continuously deepened the reform of trademark registration facilitation, and the effects of various reform measures have been significant. Currently, the average review cycle for trademark registration has been significantly shortened to 5 months, reaching a relatively fast international level, and trademark public services are more efficient and convenient. At the same time, the Trademark Office is vigorously promoting "forward-looking measures", severely cracking down on malicious trademark registration in the trademark examination and opposition stages. Strengthening the monitoring of malicious registration behaviors, adopting measures such as advance examination, joint examination, and strict application of the law, resolutely cracking down on malicious trademark registration behaviors. Since 2018, approximately 130,000 malicious trademark applications have been rejected in the examination, opposition, and review stages.
With the deepening of trademark reform, the awareness of trademark intellectual property protection among Chinese market entities has significantly improved. In the first 11 months of 2019, the number of trademark registration applications in China reached 7.121 million. China's cumulative number of valid registered trademarks has reached 24.78 million, with an average of 1 registered trademark for every 4.9 market entities. China is the country with the largest number of trademark applications in the world, ranking first in the world for 17 consecutive years. Mr. Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, stated that 52% of the world's trademark applications in 2018 came from China. China's valid trademark registrations account for 40% of the world's total. China is the main driving force behind the global growth of intellectual property applications and has joined the ranks of global intellectual property leaders.
At the seminar, Xia Qing emphasized that combating malicious trademark registration and strengthening intellectual property protection require concerted efforts from multiple parties. He hoped that enterprises, society, and the government would work together to create a good business environment for protecting intellectual property rights. Next, the Trademark Office will increase efforts to combat malicious trademark registration, strictly implement the new Trademark Law and the "Several Provisions on Regulating the Behavior of Trademark Application and Registration", maintain a high-pressure posture in combating malicious trademark registration, and effectively regulate the order of trademark registration.
