On January 13, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) circulated a draft amendment to the PRC Trademark Law for public comment (“TML Draft Amendment”). The TML Draft Amendment is the product of deliberations that officially commenced in 2018. This deliberation process resulted in the 2019 stop-gap revisions to the Trademark Law that were primarily focused on addressing the issue of trademark hoarding. The current TML Draft Amendment was prepared by a CNIPA working group established in 2022 to consolidate prior survey and research efforts and prepare a first draft of proposed revisions. This first draft is a comprehensive and ambitious effort to update the law to address both new and longstanding issues, including – among many others – the issue of bad faith filings and issues around trademark use. Many industry groups and professional organizations (including INTA and the USCBC) will be submitting comments on behalf of their members before the February 27 deadline for public comment.
Continue Reading CNIPA Issues Significant Draft Amendment to the PRC Trademark Law