China Radio International:
Some reports say that among China's 10 million or more valid registered trademarks, some of them are malicious trademark registration and trademark hoarding, which have disturbed the standard registration procedure and violated the principle of fair competition. What measures will the National Intellectual Property Administration take to combat malicious trademark registration and hoarding?
Shen Changyu:
Thanks for your question. We have done a lot of work in this aspect. Now, I would like to invite the deputy commissioner of the National Intellectual Property Administration, a trademark expert, to answer this question.
Zhao Gang:
Thank you. Just as you mentioned, China ranks first in the world with its large number of registered trademarks. However, a small portion of the registration is driven by malicious intent, which we usually call them "malicious trademark registration." It has been divided into two categories. The first category is for people who register names of famous brands on irrelevant products or services or register some popular international brands in China. The second category is for people who register trademarks and then sell them for a profit. This is what we call the "hoarding of registered trademarks." The former type of malicious registration, which is clearly defined in relevant laws, has been effectively contained in recent years thanks to our great efforts to crack down on it. Regarding the hoarding of registered trademarks, however, in spite of principle provisions, law enforcement is difficult due to lack of direct, specific, and operable articles.
In recent years, the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the newly restructured State Intellectual Property Office have paid close attention to and taken solid strides on the crackdown on hoarding registered trademarks for profit. In accordance with the Trademark Law, we declare the invalidity of a large number of hoarded trademarks that lie unused, especially those resembling famous registered trademarks. In some cases where trademark infringement cannot be dealt with through application or complaint processes, we will declare invalidity after registration in accordance with Article 44 of the Trademark Law. Both administrative organs and people's courts agree that a trademark can be canceled, if the holder has registered a large number of trademarks but is not using them. However, the implementation involves many challenges before registration.
Therefore, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress revised the Trademark Law on April 23. As you may have noticed, the revision aims to stop at the source those registration applications that are not intended for use. The Trademark Office of National Intellectual Property Administration can directly reject applications during the review phase. If the Trademark Office of National Intellectual Property Administration fails to spot such cases during the review phase, as long as an objection is raised, the application can be stopped. Even if registration has been approved, it can be dismissed through another procedure. The procedure that determines whether the application is valid is very powerful. And the revised Trademark Law also stipulates that, for those who register a trademark maliciously, in addition to their trademark being rejected and invalidated, they may also face administrative penalties such as warnings and fines. I believe that after the revision, the Trademark Law will be more effective in combating behaviors such as hoarding of trademarks and malicious registration. In the next stage, we must also step up the development of supporting measures to ensure implementation of this revised Trademark Law. Thank you.
