Guide to Proceeding with Trademark Matters
in People’s Republic of China:
1. Filling for Trademark Registration
— One power of attorney;
— 10 pieces of specimen of the trademark, of which the length and breadth shall not exceed 10cm, or less than 5cm. If colour of the trademark is claimed, 10 pieces of the specimen in the colour with accompaniment of 2 pieces in black and white should be provided;
— Specification of goods/services (China adopts Int’l Classification of Goods & Services);
— Goods/services should be listed on item-by-item basis since class heading and too general description of goods is not acceptable;
— Where the applicant already has a Chinese translation of its name/address, such must be provided. If it does not have a Chinese name/address, this firm shall make a translation or transliteration for it. 2. Claiming Conventional Priority
— Priority declaration must be made at the time of the filling;
— Priority document must be certified by the competent authority of the country in which the trademark was first filed;
— Priority certification document may be filed at a later date, but no later than three months from the actual filing date of the application.
3. Filing for Renewal
— One power of attorney.
The renewal application may be filed 6 (six) months before or within 6 (six) months after the expiration date of the registration.
4. Filing for Change of Name of Registrant
— One power of attorney;
— A certified copy of the certificate showing change of name at home country.
5. Filing for Change of Address of Registrant
— One power of attorney. 6. Filing for Trademark Assignment
— One power of attorney (executed by the assignee);
— One application for effecting assignment of a trademark (signed by both the assignor and the assignee).
7. Filing for Recordal of Trademark License Contract
— One power of attorney (executed by the licensor);
— One application for recordal of license contract (signed by the licensor);
— One original copy of the license contract;
— One photocopy of the registration certificate of the trademark to be licensed.
8. Lodging Opposition
— One power of attorney;
— Grounds of opposition (can be prepared by this firm).
The above documents must be lodged within the three-month opposition period.
9. Lodging Dispute
— One power of attorney;
— One application for adjudication on dispute of a registered trademark (can be prepared by this firm).
10. Appeals
Appeals may be made to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board if dissatisfied with the Refusals, Decisions on opposition and cancellation made by the TMO.
The appeal should be made within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notification on the refusal or decision. No extension is available, but supplementary grounds/evidence maybe submitted within 3 months.
11. Trademark Infringement
For dealing with trademark infringement cases, the following documents and information are usually needed:
— One power of attorney;
— One copy of the Chinese trademark registration certificate;
— Samples of the genuine and the fake goods, their packaging, photographs and other related information and evidence;
— Written description on the comparison of the genuine and the fake goods;
— Accurate name and address of the infringer and related information.
|
