What Is Trademark Law? How Did China'S Trademark Law Develop?

Trademark law is a general term for regulating the legal norms of various social relations occurring between state organs, enterprises and institutions, individual business people and citizens, as well as adjusting activities of goods and services as a result of registration, use, management and protection of exclusive rights of trademarks.

Article 9: the first law on trademarks in China, which was promulgated in June 1904 by the Qing government, was abolished after the publication was not implemented in time. In 1923, the Northern Government promulgated the Trademark Law (44 articles) and the detailed rules for the implementation of the Trademark Law (37), which systematically stipulated the contents of trademark registration and trademark management. Thirty-sixth of the "fine rules" also provided for the classification of 65 commodities. In 1930, the Kuomintang government promulgated the trademark law and the detailed rules for the implementation of the trademark law, and implemented it in January 1, 1931. In January 1, 1931, the Trademark Law was amended (69), and 22 amendments were made to the implementation rules of the trademark law. The development of China's trademark system is relatively late. The existing official documents are on the 22 day of the first month of 1904, which is the "commercial license registration regulations" (14).

In this period, the trademark law had a strong semi feudal and semi colonial color. Whenever the disputes between Chinese and foreign trademarks occurred, they always protected foreign trademarks.

After the founding of new China, the Trademark Law of the Kuomintang government was abolished and the trademark privileges of foreign powers were abolished.

In July 28, 1950, the Administrative Council approved the implementation of the Provisional Regulations on trademark registration (a total of 34 articles). This is the first unified trademark administration law in New China.

On the same day, the financial and Economic Commission of the Government Administration Council promulgated the "rules for the implementation of the Provisional Regulations of trademark registration" (a total of 30 articles) and the commodity classification table of the central private enterprise bureau.

In April 10, 1963, the State Council promulgated the regulations on the administration of trademarks (a total of 14 articles). In April 25th of the same year, the central administration for Industry and Commerce promulgated the rules for the implementation of the trademark Administration Ordinance (a total of 21 articles), and twenty-first articles of the rules promulgated 78 categories of commodity classification lists (all along to October 31, 1988).

The regulations are basically completed after adapting to the socialist pformation of production data after 1956, and should be strengthened by trademark management, so that enterprises can guarantee and improve the quality of products.

In September 1978, the State Council decided to set up the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and set up a trademark office.

In August 23, 1982, the twenty-fourth session of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress adopted the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China (43 articles) and came into effect on March 1, 1983. The law was amended by the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on February 22, 1993 for the thirtieth time.

In March 10, 1983, the State Council promulgated and implemented the rules for the implementation of the Trademark Law (34 items), which has been revised three times in January 13, 1988, July 15, 1993 and April 25, 1995.

Following China's accession to the Convention on the establishment of World Intellectual Property Organization in 1980 and the member states of the Paris Convention on the protection of industrial property in March 19, 1985, the international classification of goods and services for trademark registration and the international classification of trademark graphics elements were formally adopted in November 1, 1988. In 1989, the Madrid Agreement on international registration of trademarks was officially added. Thus, China became a member of the multilateral international protection family of trademark rights, and also marks the further improvement of China's trademark law system.

In order to integrate with international treaties and strengthen trademark protection, the trademark law and rules for the implementation of trademark law have been amended several times. The current Trademark Law (Amendment 43) was amended by the thirtieth session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress in February 22, 1993. The existing rules for the implementation of the Trademark Law (50 items) were amended by the State Council's approval and issued in May 12, 1995 by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce decree third.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce has also formulated, revised and promulgated 7 administrative rules and regulations to further promote and develop China's trademark cause.