Trademark protection in China may not be what you think

In provision of trademark services, the author has noted that some foreign clients are reluctant to file their trademark registration in China, and neither do they defend rights assertively on infringements. Worse still, some clients tend to avoid lawsuits in the event of serious infringement, and are reluctant to resolve the disputes. The reasons are of course embedded in considerations relating to business strategy, but the underlying reason signifies a lack of confidence in the Chinese trademarks regulatory regime – the misconception that even if a case has been filed, one can hardly achieve the desired outcomes.

With the misconception, some foreign companies are reluctant to adopt a systematic approach to trademark protection system in China. Some even avoid the Chinese market. The reality, however, is not consistent with what they think. In recent years, China has made remarkable progress in areas such as trademark legislation, administrative and judicial protection.

DATA REVIEW

First, let us examine the situation of China’s trademark protection on the basis of a set of data. Since the statistical data for 2017 have yet to be released, the author could only refer at the time primarily to the relevant data in 2016.