Newsletter
PRC ISSUES OPINION ON DISPUTES INVOLVING TRADEMARKS AND ENTERPRISE NAMES
On 5 April 1999, China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce issued an opinion on how to resolve disputes between parties regarding conflicting trademarks and enterprise names. The key principles are as follows:
The resolution of cases in which there is confusion between trademarks and enterprise names must satisfy the following conditions:
1. The trademarks and enterprise names must have been registered;
2. The damaged party is the one which first had legal rights to the trademark or enterprise name; and
3. Claims must be filed within five years of the registration of the trademark or enterprise name; provided, however, that this statute of limitations does not apply if the trademarks or enterprise names are maliciously registered.
Confusion between trademarks and enterprise names primarily includes:
1.Registering a trademark which is identical or similar to the specific portion of an enterprise name owned by another person and which causes the public to misidentify the owner of the enterprise name and the person who registered the trademark.
2.Registering the specific portion of an enterprise name which is identical or similar to a registered trademark owned by another person and which causes the public to misidentify the owner of the trademark with the person who registered the enterprise name.
Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce should handle cases of confusion between trademarks and enterprise names if they occur within a single province. Cases involving more than one province should be handled by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.