The China Case Law Annual Review Is Now Available

In the dynamic landscape of the China trademark law system, the divergence of the long-drawn-out law amendment drafting, the consultation process, and real-life practice has given rise to complex legal, regulatory, and strategic challenges. As a result, navigating case precedents provides a fresh perspective for brand legal practitioners to consider when enforcing their trademarks in China.

The China Case Law Annual Review takes a bird’s-eye view of milestone cases—ranging from prosecution to litigation, and cutting across bad-faith filing, imposed sanctions, and injunctive relief—and provides insider analysis of the impact on the pace and shape of trademark rights protection in China.

Recent Chinese case decisions highlight several interesting trends:

• An overly strict approach of absolute grounds examination and intent-to-use requirements;
• The drastic measures against bad-faith filings leading to increased use requirements in non-use cancellation, equally alarming to infringers and legitimate brand owners;
• New offshoots in the expanded use of unfair competition grounds to capture the anticompetitive behaviors arising out of the digital era; and
• A more refined methodology of base calculation in damages awards and an actionable strategy for effective enforcement.

The China Case Law Annual Review captures the main intellectual property happenings in the past few years and deciphers the case pattern and trends that affect companies of all sizes and from all industry sectors in and outside China.

INTA’s China Representative Office, based in Beijing, represents the Association’s members in China. Working in collaboration with staff at INTA’s headquarters in New York City, the China Representative Office leads the Association’s policy, membership, marketing, and communications initiatives in this jurisdiction. To learn more about INTA’s activities in China, please contact INTA Chief Representative for China Monica Su, and follow us on WeChat.

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this article, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.

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