On August 30.2013 China’s National People’s Congress passed the “Decision on Revising the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China”, which adopts the third amendment to the country’s Trademark Law.
The Decision has made 53 revisions to the current Trademark Law in the following five areas:
- Adding provisions regarding the trademark review period;
- Improving the opposition system for trademark registration;
- Regulating the protection system for well-known trademarks;
- Strengthening the exclusive rights protection of trademarks; and
- Regulating the activities of trademark agencies.
The Decision will take effect on May 1, 2014.
China adopted its Trademark Law in 1982 and made previous amendments in 1993 and 2001.
According to latest official statistics as of June this year, China held the world’s largest number of registered trademarks and valid trademark registrations, at 8.17 million and 6.8 million respectively.
