subject: Gain Legal Protection For Your Products In China [print this page] Regardless foreign products or Chinese products, as long as the registered trademark processed the application and approved of the China Trademark Bureau, the products can be protected by the law in China. In China, the one who applies for trademark priority, he can enjoy the protection priority of Chinese law. Based on international widely accepted" Nice Differentiation Table of Merchandise and Service ", China trademark registration includes 45 categories, in between 34 categories of goods, 11 categories of services, a total of over 10,000 goods and services, using the classification specification of goods and service names help to speed up the trademark registration process, to ensure that applicants receive timely trademark rights.
The registered trademark will be valid for ten years commencing from the date on which the registration is approved. If the registered trademark is needed for use after it is expired, an application for renewal of registration will be made within six months before the expiration. A six-month grace period will be given to a person who fails to apply within that period. If no application is filed before the grace period expires, the registered trademark will be cancelled.
Foreign products gaining legal protection in China should go through the following procedures:
First, applicant delegates to agency to fill the application.
Foreign enterprises or foreigners should delegate to agency to apply for registration in China Trademarks, and submit relevant information to the State Trademark Bureau. Foreign applicants in completing the trademark application should write the address in accordance with the business license.
Second, the agency on behave should submit the related information to the State Trademark Bureau.
After accepting the application, through reviewing procedure for those complete forms and right specification, China's State Trademark Bureau will send the "acceptance notice" to the trademark agency about 3 months. "Acceptance notice" only represents that the application for trademark registration has been accepted by China Trademark Bureau, which does not mean that the application has been approved.
Third, if the application for registration was rejected, the applicant may apply for a review.
If the trademark registration application was rejected, the applicant disagrees with the decision of rejection. Within 15 days of the date of notification of rejection is received, the applicant can apply for a review to the Adjudication Board of State Administration for Industry and Commerce Trademark.
Fourth, encountering the objection, the applicant may submit an application for review.
If the trademark application for registration is challenged, the applicant is not satisfied with the ruling of the objections of the Chinese Trademark Bureau. After receiving the ruling on the opposition within 15 days, the applicant can apply for a review to the Adjudication Board of State Administration for Industry and Commerce Trademark.
Fifth, under the circumstance without any revised or opposition, it usually takes 18 months from application to approved of Trademark Registration Certificate. After the approval of a trademark, Trademark Registration Certificate will be sent to agency on behave by China Trademark Bureau. During the period of application but not yet approved, the trademark is still not a registered trademark and should be treated as unregistered trademarks. It is worth mentioning that foreigners or foreign enterprises in China for trademark registration should keep in mind to find a reliable agency for trademark registration.
