In January 2023, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published a new draft amendment to the Trademark Law. It makes a number of important adjustments and adds 23 new articles. For foreign companies, the biggest advantage of this amendment is that it strengthens the fight against bad faith trademark registration at the legislative level, which will reduce the cost of rights holders to protect their trademarks.
The draft provides for the first time the concept of “trademark application in bad faith” and specifies the relevant sanctions. Under Article 67, those who register trademarks in bad faith without using them will face a fine of up to RMB 250,000 and confiscation of their illegal earnings. The aggrieved right holder may also file a lawsuit in court, and the amount of compensation must include at least the costs incurred by the right holder to prevent the trademark registration in bad faith. Read more