On February 12, the China Trademark Office (CTMO) published a draft regulation titled “Several Provisions on Regulating the Application for Registration of Trademarks” for public comment. This draft is the first attempt at providing a vetting system to spot and reject fraudulent trademark applications by malicious squatters and punishing bad actors and their trademark agents for such activity.
Enforcement of trademark rights in China is an ongoing issue faced by numerous corporations. Invalidating or canceling a trademark registration in the Chinese market is time-consuming and costly. The best way to defend your company’s valuable intellectual property assets is to put in place as many protections as possible. If your company owns a creative design mark, consider going beyond the standard trademark registration and getting the “super trademark” by obtaining copyright registration for this artistic design element.