2026-09-20
China's new Patent Examination Guidelines, in force since 1 January 2026, require that the inventor be a natural person and that an artificial-intelligence system may not be named as...
2026-09-10
On 26 June 2026 the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress adopted the first full revision of the Trademark Law since it took effect in 1983; the revised...
2026-08-30
China's trademark office has been invalidating deceptive "trick trademarks" on its own motion in batches: by late August 2026 more than 1,980 marks — including "One Bucket Half" instant...
2026-08-28
The State Council has issued the "15th Five-Year Plan" for IP protection and utilisation (Guofa No. 30), setting the 2026–2030 IP agenda for foreign-rights holders in China.国务院印发《知识产权保护和运用"十五五"规划》（国发〔2026〕30号），为在华外国权利持有人确立2026—2030年知识产权议程。A headline...
2026-08-28
China is a first-to-file trademark jurisdiction: whoever registers first generally owns the mark, regardless of who used it first abroad — which is exactly why bad-faith squatting (恶意抢注) hits...
2026-08-28
On 12 August 2026 the Supreme People's Court released seven typical cases on commercial franchising (jia meng lian suo), clarifying how courts characterise franchise relationships, protect franchisees and sanction...
2026-08-28
China is a first-to-file jurisdiction: trademark rights are generally acquired by registration, not prior use, so file before any public launch, import, or e-commerce listing. 中国实行先申请原则：商标权一般通过注册取得而非通过使用，因此应在任何公开上市、进口或电商上架前提交申请。Foreign applicants without...
2026-08-28
A foreign applicant without a business domicile in China must appoint a legally established Chinese trademark agency; only foreign nationals habitually resident in China may file directly.在中国无营业场所的外国申请人须委托依法设立的中国商标代理机构；仅经常居所在中国的外籍人士可自行办理。China is first-to-file:...
2026-08-28
Under the Madrid System, a foreign brand with a Chinese base mark can file one international application designating many members, instead of filing separately in each jurisdiction. 依马德里体系，在中国拥有基础商标的外国品牌可提交一件国际申请指定多个成员，无需在各法域分别申请。The...
2026-08-28
Administrative complaints to local IP offices are the fastest and cheapest first strike against infringement. 向地方知识产权局行政投诉，是对侵权最快、成本最低的第一击。The 2027 Trademark Law extends cross-class well-known-mark protection to unregistered famous marks. ...