Article 10 of China’s Trademark Law enumerates circumstances where a trademark application will be ex officio refused by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). These circums...

The battle between the French company LACOSTE and the ex-Singaporean company CARTELO over the crocodile device trademark has been going on, in China, for over two decades. In a retrial case concerning...

Litigation related to joint investment and trademark licensing can be complex and costly, particularly if the parties’ agreement did not foresee and carefully describe what will happen upon terminati...

On 18 March 2021, the Minhang District (Shanghai) Court published on its website a judgment, rendered on 25 September 2020, which could become a precedent in the fight against trade mark squatting.

The Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne (CIVC) is the trade association representing the interests of independent Champagne producers and Champagne houses. Champagne is known by Chinese con...

As a rising fashion brand in China marketplace, Tommy Hilfiger (TH) has been constantly challenged by an increasing number of copycats. The infringer usually registers a mark that bears some resemblan...

In an era that the significance of intellectual property has been reiterated and elevated to the national strategy level, the Chinese judiciary has been innovatively tackling bad faith trademark filin...

On 3 September 2020, the Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi prevailed in an opposition action, against “ CNMI” (Chinese characters of “Orange Mi” + cnmi). The case was selected as one of the “CTMO’...

In its recently delivered judgment (Lin Mingkai v. Fuyun, [2018] ZGFMZ No. 43, Sep 3, 2019), the SPC clarified the condition requirements of the prior use defense (Article 59.3 of the Trademark Law), ...

Unlike European and American Supreme Courts, the Chinese Supreme Court (SPC) reexamines cases not only on points of law but also on facts. In a way, it constitutes a third degree of jurisdiction, afte...

On March 30, 2020, the Supreme People’s Court issued a retrial decision, confirming previous judgments rendered by Hangzhou Intermediate Court and Zhejiang High Court, which had dismissed an infringe...

The fourth amendment of China’s Trademark Law has come into force on November 1, 2019. The revised Article 4 of the Law now reads: "trademark filed in bad faith without intention to use shall be reje...