The China National Intellectual Property Administration ("CNIPA") has recently drafted and issued the Administrative Measures for Trademark Agency (Draft for Comment) (the "Draft for Comment") to seek opinions from all walks of life once again by October 24, 2020.
The Draft for Comment sets out provisions from five aspects, including standardizing the record-filing system for trademark agencies and clarifying the code of conduct for trademark agency. In particular, the Draft for Comment provides clarity on the code of conduct for trademark agencies and their practitioners: the first is to clarify the basic principles for engaging in trademark agency business. The second is to require trademark agencies to establish sound a series of business management systems, including the system for quality management, the system for conflict of interest examination, the system for malicious application screening, and the system for archives management, as well as operating systems. The third is to reiterate the obligations that should be performed by trademark agencies and their practitioners, and clarify that a trademark agency practitioner may not engage in trademark agency business in two or more trademark agencies at the same time. The last is to require trademark agencies to strengthen the education on professional ethics and professional discipline, organize business learning, charge fees according to principles of voluntariness, fairness and honesty, and comply with relevant provisions on conducting business activities on Internet platforms.