LEGAL BASIS

• Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, in force since April 1, 1985.
• Decision regarding the Revision of the Patent Law of PRC of September 4, 1992, in force since January 1, 1993, last revision in force since October 1, 2009.
• Implementing Regulations of July 1, 2001, last revision effective from February 1, 2010.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act, since March 19, 1985.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since January 1, 1994.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, no legalization;
• Specification with claims and abstract (in English, German, French or Japanese for translation into Chinese);
• Drawings, if any;
• Certified copy of the basic application, if priority is claimed;
• Assignment of priority rights (only if the applicant of the Chinese application differ from that of the first application), no legalization.

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 30 months; under Chapter II: 30 months.
Validity: issued after a formal and full examination - 20 years from the filing date.
Annuities: after granting, the first annuity for the current year in which the patent was granted must be paid.
Opposition: not provided for.

LEGAL BASIS

• Trademark Law, in force since March 1, 1983, last amended May 1, 2014.
• Implementing Regulations under the Trademark Law, revised on January 3, 1988, July 28, 1993, September 15, 2002, and May 1, 2014.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act, since March 19, 1985.
• Madrid Agreement, since October 4, 1989.
• Madrid Protocol, since December 1, 1995.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney;
• No print of the trademark label is needed, but if the trademark is in color, 1 black and white print must be submitted;
• Extract from the Commercial Register or ID of the applicant (photocopy is acceptable);
• Priority document, if any.

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: verbal, pictorial and other designations or their combinations, and sounds. Service marks are registrable.
Classification: International.
Obligation to use the registered mark: compulsory. Non use during any three-year period after the registration date may lead to cancellation.
Duration – renewals: 10-year periods from the registration date or last renewal date.
Opposition: any person may, within three months from the date of the publication (for international marks [Madrid]: starting on the first day of the month following the publication in "Les Marques Internationales"), file an opposition against the registration of the trademark. If no opposition is filed, or if it is decided that the opposition is not justified, registration is approved, a trademark certificate issued and the registered trademark published.

LEGAL BASIS

• Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, in force since April 1, 1985.
• Decision regarding the Revision of the Patent Law of PRC of September 4, 1992, in force since January 1, 1993; last revision in force since October 1, 2009.
• Implementing Regulations of July 1, 2001; last revision effective from February 1, 2010.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act, since March 19, 1985.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney;
• Drawings or photographs of the design (6 views), in triplicate (min. 3 x 8 cm, max. 15 x 22 cm);
• Indication of the name and address of the applicant and the name of the creator;
• Indication of the object incorporating the design;
• Certified copy of basic application, if priority is claimed.

REMARKS

Duration - renewals: after formal examination: 10 years from the filing date. Opposition: not provided for.

LEGAL BASIS

• There is no specific legislation although some regulations on the organization and management of country code top-level domain names do exist.

FILING

• ccTLD: .cn
• Applicant: legal entities only. Individuals may not apply for domain name registration.
• Local presence: not required.

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: one year, renewable.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: none but an administrative procedure other than UDRP is available before CNNIC.