The present is part of a series of articles with the aim to give the practitioners in China a rough idea of the functioning of the European Intellectual Property Right (IPR) system with a focus on trademarks and designs.
Assuming that the procedure of trademark authorization is absolutely paramount and the registration certificate issued by the Trademark Office means that the registrant obtains an unchallengeable right and is supposed to use the registered trademark monopolistically and freely,
In April 2018, the 4th revision of the Trademark Law was initiated by official declaration of the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce for public comment.
Chinese rise on the global stage has been accompanied with foreign brands flocking to this market to tap the incredible potential of the Chinese consumers, and this is not a new story. As the market develops, so do the numbers of trademarks being registered,
It is likely that if asked to name the Chinese brands they are familiar with, most people outside China would be able to come up with a handful at most—and they would probably be the brands of major players like Lenovo, Alibaba, Haier and Huawei.
