New Trademark Law Helps Foreign Trademark Protection

State Administration for Industry and Commerce trademark office Director Xu Ruibiao said in an interview that the new trademark law emphasizes the principles of good faith and fairness, and both Chinese and foreign trademark registrations and users enjoy the same rights and protection.

During the process of law amendment, some foreign institutions and organizations expressed their opinions through different channels. The Legislative Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and other departments also organized special personnel to conduct country studies, understand the provisions of major countries on the issues involved in the draft, and attach great importance to issues of special concern abroad.

In order to regulate the application and use of trademarks and maintain the market order of fair competition, the new Trademark Law has added provisions that prohibit people who have contracts, business relationships or other relationships with the prior users of trademarks and know that the trademarks of others exist to preempt the registration of such trademarks.

According to the new trademark law, the trademark of others is registered, but not registered well-known trademark If it is used as a shop name in an enterprise name, misleading the public and constituting an act of unfair competition, it shall be handled in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Anti unfair Competition.

In view of the high cost of protecting the rights of the victims in trademark infringement cases in practice, and the phenomenon of "winning a lawsuit and losing money", the new law stipulates that punitive damages can be awarded for malicious infringement of trademark exclusive rights if the circumstances are serious. At the same time, the new trademark law increased the amount of legal tort compensation, increasing the upper limit of compensation from 500000 yuan to 3 million yuan.

In order to reduce the burden of proof of the exclusive right holder of a trademark, the new trademark law stipulates that the infringer must provide books and materials related to the infringement when the right holder has tried his best to provide evidence. Otherwise, the court can judge the amount of compensation for infringement by referring to the claims of the right holder and the evidence provided, thus increasing the illegal costs of the infringer.

Professor Li Shunde, deputy director of the Intellectual Property Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the amendment of the new trademark law is not just for foreign enterprises, but because Chinese and foreign enterprises are treated equally, the introduction of the new law objectively provides a stronger legal basis for the protection of foreign trademarks.

He said that since the world financial crisis in 2008, the Chinese market has stood out, with a large number of foreign enterprises and products entering China, and the number of trademark applications in China has been increasing, involving Trademark infringement The dispute also followed. The new trademark law is effective in protecting the exclusive right to use registered trademarks, and foreign businessmen have confidence in China's market environment.

He Xunban, director of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Commission of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, said that among the more than 88000 trademark confirmation administrative cases accepted by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce last year, a considerable number were foreign-related trademark cases, which were effectively protected according to law. "The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board has always attached great importance to the protection of foreign-related trademarks. Almost all foreign well-known brands operating in mainland China have been protected to varying degrees."