Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Revision of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China

Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Revision of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China

Order of the President [2001] No. 59

October 27, 2001

Adopted at the 24th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on October 27, 2001, the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Revising the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China is hereby promulgated and shall come into effect as of December 1, 2001.

President of the People's Republic of China Jiang Zemin

Appendix: Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Revision of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China

In accordance with the decision made at 24th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China is revised as follows:

I. The Article 1 is revised to read "This Law is enacted for the purposes of improving the administration of trademarks, protecting the exclusive right to use a trademark, and encouraging producers to guarantee the quality of their goods and maintain the reputation of their trademarks, with a view to protecting the interests of consumers, producers and proprietors and promoting the development of a socialist market economy."

II. Paragraph 2 of Article 20 is revised to read "The administrative department for industry and commerce under the State Council shall establish a Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to be responsible for handling trademark disputes."

III. The Article 3 is revised to read "Registered trademarks refer to trademarks that have been approved and registered by the Trademark Office, including goods marks, service marks, collective marks and certification marks. A trademark registrant shall enjoy an exclusive right to use the trademark, which shall be protected by law.
For the purposes of this law, a collective mark refers to a mark registered in the name of a group, association, or any other organization and used in business by its members to indicate membership.
For the purposes of this law, a certification mark refers to a mark which is owned by an organization that exercises supervision over a particular product or service and which is used to indicate that third-party goods or services meet certain standards pertaining to place of origin, raw materials, mode of manufacture, quality, or other characteristics.
Particulars pertaining to the registration and administration of collective marks and certification marks shall be formulated by administrative authorities for industry and commerce under the State Council."

IV. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 4 are revised to read "Any natural person, legal person., or other organization desirous of acquiring the exclusive right to use a trademark for the goods produced, manufactured, processed, selected, or marketed by it or him shall file an application for the registration of the goods mark with the Trademark Office.
Any natural person, legal person, or other organization desirous of acquiring the exclusive right to use a service mark for the services provided by it or him shall file an application for the registration of the service mark with the Trademark Office.
Provisions Regarding the goods trademarks in this Law shall be applicable to service trademarks."

V. A new article is added to operate as Article 5 which reads "Two or more natural persons, legal persons, or other organizations may jointly file an application for the registration of a trademark and jointly enjoy and exercise an exclusive right to use the mark."

VI. The Article 6 is revised to operate as Article 7 which reads "Any user of a trademark shall be responsible for the quality of the goods in respect of which the trademark is used. The administrative authorities for industry and commerce at all levels shall, through the administration of trademarks, exercise supervision over the quality of the goods and shall prohibit any practice that defrauds the consumers."

VII. The Article 7 is revised to operate as article 8 which read "Any visible sign able to distinguish the goods of a natural person, legal person, or other organization from those of others, including any word, device, any letter of the alphabet, any number, three-dimensional symbol, and color combination, or any combination thereof, may be applied for registration as a trademark."

VIII. A new article is added to operate as article 9 which reads "A trademark seeking registration shall be so distinctive as to be distinguishable and shall rot conflict with the prior legitimate rights of others.
A trademark registrant shall have the right to indicate the wording Registered Trademark' or a sign indicating that it is registered."

IX. The Article 8 is revised to operate as Article 10 which reads "The following signs shall not be used as trademarks:
1. Those identical with or similar to the State name, national flag, national emblem, military flag, or decorations, of the People's Republic of China; those identical with the names of the specific locations that are seats of central state organs; or those identical with the names or designs of landmark buildings
2. Those identical with or similar to the state names, national flags, national emblems or military flags of foreign countries, except the permission of the government of the country involved
3. Those identical with or similar to the flags, emblems, or names of international inter-governmental organizations, except with the permission of the organization concerned or where no likelihood of public confusion exists
4. Those identical with or similar to an official mark or inspection seal that indicates control and guarantee, except where authorized
5. Those identical with or similar to the symbols or names of the Red Cross or the Red Crescent
6. Those having the nature of discrimination against any nationality
7.
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