Please wait while the page is loading...
31 July 2014
The State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China has recently released the amended Provisions for Determination and Protection of Well-known Trademarks. It clarifies the responsibilities of the industry and commerce authorities and the parties involved, reflecting the legislative intent of the latest revised Trademark Law regarding well-known trademark protection.
To be effective in August, the 21-article provisions re-confirmed the protection mechanisms of well-known trademarks and further clarified its definition and determination.
Said in an interview with People.cn, deputy director general Yan Shi of Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry & Commerce of China, there was room for improvement in the original provisions that went in force in 2003. For instance, the determination standards were not specific enough while the work responsibilities were not clarified. In practice, he said the centralized means that determination results are published might mislead the public to an illusion that the determination well-known trademarks is an administrative evaluation and assessment criterion.
As such, the amendment followed the principle of “regulating procedures, refining standards, and specifying roles and responsibilities”, addressing the issues aroused in cases involving well-known trademark determination over the past years, said Yan.
