On October 12, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced that from January 1, 2022, the CNIPA will issue only electronic copies of trademark registration certificates regardless of whether applications were filed as standard paper filings or as e-filings. This procedural change follows a number of formatting changes to the registration certificate template initiated in 2018, including the addition of a QR code on each registration certificate for publication/verification purposes.

From October 15, 2021 to December 31, 2021, CNIPA will continue to issue paper registration certificates for paper filings, while electronic registration certificates will also be available via the CNIPA e-filing system. After this transition period, only e-copies of registration certifications will be made available.

The CNIPA notice — i.e., Announcement on Adjusting the Method of Issuing Trademark Registration Certificates (No. 453) — can be accessed here.

At the time of writing, a number of open items will need to be addressed, such as

1) whether and when an electronic registration certificate will be issued for applications for certification of registration for an international registration extended to the PRC, partial cancellations, modifications, etc., and

2) whether the code for downloading the electronic registration certificate will be permanent, and whether there will be an easy reset process. It is thus advisable for a trademark applicant to docket the CNIPA’s official notice in addition to the electronic registration certificate for verification purposes when enforcing rights before the relevant administrative authorities and People’s Courts in the enforcement and litigation contexts.

Perkins Coie will be watching developments in new changes and potential impacts in the coming months, so stay tuned. A bilingual version of the CNIPA’s notice is set out below:

关于调整商标注册证发放方式的公告(第 453 号)

Announcement on Adjusting the Method of Issuing Trademark Registration Certificates (No. 453)

国家知识产权局公告

China National Intellectual Property Administration

第四五三号

No. 453

为贯彻落实深化“放管服”改革部署,推进商标注册改革,优化营商环境,提高公共服务水平,现对商标注册证发放方式进行调整,公告如下:

In order to implement and deepen the “decentralization, regulation and service” reform deployment, advance trademark registration reform, optimize the business environment, and improve the level of public services, the method of issuing trademark registration certificates is now adjusted. The announcement is as follows:

一、自 2022 年 1 月 1 日起,公告注册及其他商标申请产生的商标注册证,以纸件形式提交商标申请的寄发《领取商标注册证通知书》,注册人按通知书指定网址和提取码,登录中国商标网获取电子商标注册证;以电子方式提交商标申请的登录商标网上服务系统获取电子商标注册证。电子商标注册证可自行查看和下载打印。国家知识产权局不再发放纸质商标注册证。

1. Starting from January 1, 2022, for trademark registration certificates generated from publication of registration and other trademark applications, a Notice of Obtaining Trademark Registration Certificate will be provided for an application that is submitted in paper form. The registrant shall log in to the China Trademark Website (the official website of the Trademark office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the CNIPA) to obtain an electronic trademark registration certificate with the URL (click here to access URL) and extraction code indicated on the notice. The registrant shall log in to the trademark online service system to obtain an electronic trademark registration certificate for an application filed electronically. The electronic trademark registration certificate can be viewed, downloaded, and printed by yourself. The CNIPA no longer issues paper trademark registration certificates.

二、设立过渡期,2021 年 10 月 15 日至 12 月 31 日期间,公告注册及其他商标申请产生的商标注册证,以纸件形式提交商标申请的寄发《领取商标注册证通知书》,注册人按通知书指定网址和提取码,登录中国商标网获取电子商标注册证,同时寄发纸质商标注册证;以电子方式提交商标申请的发放方式暂时不变。

2. Establish a transition period, i.e., between October 15 and December 31, 2021, for trademark registration certificates generated from publication of registration and other trademark applications, a Notice of Obtaining Trademark Registration Certificate will be provided for an application that is submitted in paper form. The registrant shall log in to the China Trademark Website (the official website of the CNIPA) to obtain an electronic trademark registration certificate with the URL (click here to access URL) and extraction code indicated on the notice, and a paper registration certificate will be delivered at the same time. The method of issuing registration certificates for applications filed electronically remains unchanged for the time being.