By King & Wood Mallesons
The Trademark Office of the Administration for Industry and Commerce of China recently posted on its official website a notice of reducing its charging standards for trademark registration etc. by 50% from April 1, 2017, details of which are as follows:
Continue Reading China Trademark Office Slashes Charges for Trademark Registration
By Cecilia Lou Ding Xianjie and Yao Di King & Wood Mallesons’ IP Legal Group Shang Hai Office
On November 12, 2012, the Consultation Draft of Regulations on Service Inventions (“Draft Regulation”) was released by the State Intellectual Property Office of China for public comments with immediate effect. The Draft Regulation was formulated for the purpose of protecting the legal rights and interests of the inventor-employee and the employer, to stimulate and improve the ability to innovate. For those companies which have Chinese service inventions in China, they should be aware of this Draft Regulation as it places additional pressures on employers.
Continue Reading SIPO Releases Consultation Draft of Regulations on Service Inventions
在中国制造遍布全球的今天，走出去战略最核心问题是如何让品牌走出去。无论是中国制造还是中国创造，如果不注重品牌培育，继续使用他人商标，就难以摆脱随时可能被商标持有人“踢出局”的窘境。
多数走出去企业在发展之初并没有预见到将来能够有机会走出去，也没有足够资金和实力到海外注册企业、商标或域名，往往是等到准备走出去之时或者走出去之后才发现其名称、商标或域名早已存在或已被他人恶意抢注。最典型案例是海信集团与博西 “HiSense”商标纠纷以及国内某知名企业标识更换事件。借助于海信在国内行业地位以及中国市场在博西战略中份量，海信集团在国内舆论、学术界及政府各方努力下，最终与博西友好地化解了纠纷，拿回了商标权。而上述国内某知名企业则因原名泛滥采取更名策略，而新名称选择又欠妥，导致推广新标识代价巨大、困难重重。由这两个案例可见，解决企业名称、商标、或域名纠纷往往需要综合考量和高超技巧。
Continue Reading 走出去企业如何应对与品牌有关的知识产权争议
By Chen Changhui and Jiang Zhipei King & Wood Mallesons’ Intellecutual Property Group
Chinese enterprises are progressively pursuing outbound investment strategy by expanding their businesses abroad. How to build the global branding of Chinese manufacturing is a key concern in China’s outbound investment strategies. If all Chinese-related exports, either “Made in China” or “Created in China”, continue to use the registered trademark of others without paying great attention to cultivating their own brands, Chinese exports are extremely likely to be kicked out by trademark owners in the international market.
Most Chinese enterprises don’t have immediate plan for outbound investment, or have sufficient financial strength to register enterprises, trademarks or domain names overseas in their early stage of development, and then find out their enterprise names, trademarks or domain names are already in existence or have been registered by others out of malicious cybersquatting.
Continue Reading Brand-Related Intellectual Property Disputes in Outbound Investment
By King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group
Whether service trademarks used by shopping malls and supermarkets can be registered in International Class 35 and receive protection as a registered trademark is rigorously debated both academically and in judicial practice in China.
Opponents argue that the China Trademark Office (CTMO) has clearly stated that wholesale and retail services are not included in Class 35, and thus the services of shopping malls and supermarkets cannot be classified as such (the CTMO published this in their official written reply to Sichuan Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce, "Reply to the Issue of Whether Shopping Mall and Supermarket Services are Included in Class 35" on August 13, 2004). Furthermore, it stated that the contents of "sale promotion (for others)" refer to providing advice, planning, promotion and consulting for others to sell goods or services. As a result of the Reply, even if a trademark is registered under "sales promotion (for others)", such marks of wholesale and retail enterprises, such as department stores, supermarkets, wholesale markets, can hardly be effectively protected by China’s Trademark Law.Continue Reading Do Shopping Malls and Supermarkets Qualify for Class 35 Trademarks?
金杜律师事务所知识产权组
在中国大陆的理论和司法实践中对用于商场、超市的服务商标可否获得注册保护以及是否应在国际分类第35类注册存在较大分歧和争议。
反对者认为，商标局曾于2004年8月13日在致四川省工商行政管理局《关于国际分类第35类是否包括商场、超市服务问题的批复》（“《批复》”）中已明确澄清第35类不包括商品的批发、零售，商场、超市服务不属于该类别。‘推销（替他人)’服务的内容是指为他人销售商品(服务)提供建议、策划、宣传、咨询等。显而易见，按照此《批复》，百货商场、超市、批发市场等批发、零售企业即使在“推销(替他人)”服务项目上注册其商标，也不能得到中国《商标法》的有效保护。Continue Reading 第 35 类是否包括商场、超市等服务
By King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group
Pursuant to the judicial interpretations enacted by the Supreme People’s Court of China in February 2008, if a prior registered trademark owner files an infringement lawsuit against the use of a latter registered trademark, courts will refuse to accept the case. The prior trademark registrant must first initiate a trademark dispute action with the China Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) to invalidate the latter registered trademark. The are various reasons that may prevent the latter registered trademark from being invalidated within a short period of time, making it difficult for the prior registrant to prevent continued infringement by the latter mark in a timely manner.Continue Reading Copyright, a Drawn Sword towards Bad Faith Trademark Registration
金杜律师事务所知识产权组
根据中国大陆最高人民法院于2008年2月作出的生效司法解释，依据在先注册商标对在后注册商标的使用提起商标侵权诉讼的，法院不予受理，在先权利人应首先向商标评审委员会请求撤销在后申请的注册商标。这种情况导致权利人在基于各种原因无法及时撤销在后注册的侵权商标的情况下，很难制止其使用。
但是，如果在侵权注册商标的申请日之前，权利人对相同、近似商标享有其他种类的在先民事权利，比如，著作权、企业字号权、肖像权、姓名权、外观设计专利权等，权利人可依据该在先权利对侵权注册商标的使用直接提出侵权之诉，同样可达到制止后者使用的目的。Continue Reading 著作权，对抗恶意注册商标的一把利剑
