Some salient points on registrations under the new Trademark Law

The new Trademark Law to be implemented from 1 May 2014 permits applications for the registration of a trademark for goods in multiple classes with one application and allows such application to be submitted either in writing or in electronic format (article 22). The specific means of multiple-class application and electronic submission await further clarification by the Trademark Office.

Article 33 of the new law changes the entity that can file an opposition based on relative grounds, from the existing “any person” to “a prior rights holder or materially interested party”; the entity that files an opposition based on absolute grounds can still be “any person”.

Of greater significance is that article 35 specifies that if the Trademark Office renders a decision granting registration in a ruling in an opposition procedure, the opposed trademark directly secures registration. If the opponent is dissatisfied with the decision, he or she is required to petition the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) for invalidation of the trademark, and while the application for invalidation is pending, the trademark remains a registered trademark subject to the protection of the law.

Zhang Xiaonan is a trademark lawyer at China Sinda