A foreigner or a foreign enterprise can register a trademark in China, but unlike the registration process of a Chinese individual or a Chinese enterprise trademark, a foreigner or a foreign enterprise must find a trademark agency in China to register a trademark in China, while a Chinese individual or enterprise can fill his own form and directly go to the hall of the trademark office to register or entrust a trademark agency to act on behalf of oneself.
I The provisions of the Trademark Law of China concerning the registration of foreigners in China include:
The 17th article of the Trademark Law: for a foreigner or a foreign enterprise who want to apply for the registration of a trademark in China, it shall be handled according to the agreement signed by its own country and the People's Republic of China or an international treaty to which it is jointly participated, or in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.
The 18th article of Trademark Law: to apply for trademark registration or to handle other trademark business, the applicant can handle it personally or entrust a trademark agency established in accordance with the law. If a foreigner or foreign enterprise applies for trademark registration and other trademark matters in China, it shall entrust a trademark agency established according to law.
II The process of registering trademarks of foreigners in China
According to three different ways for foreigners to apply for a registered trademark in China, Business China will introduce the registration process of these three trademarks respectively:
1 a foreigner or a foreign enterprise entrusts a trademark agency to handle China's trademark registration.
China's Trademark Law stipulates the principles that foreigners or foreign enterprises should abide by when they apply for trademark registration in China. There are three main situations:
1) in accordance with the international treaties which is sponsored by both its own countries and China.
The international treaties involving foreigners and foreign enterprises applying for trademark registration are mainly the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. According to the provisions of these two international treaties, the nationals of the two members of the conventions may be in accordance with the principle of national treatment, that is, foreigners or enterprises. When applying for trademark registration in China, foreigners or foreign enterprises enjoys the same rights as our nationals. The conditions of registration, application procedures and registration procedures are all the same as our nationals. Our nationals also enjoy the same treatment as other members in other member countries.
2) according to the agreement signed by its country and China.
If the state of a foreigner or a foreign enterprise does not belong to a member state of the above two international treaties, and its own country has signed a bilateral agreement on trademark protection with China, it can register the trademark in accordance with the agreement.
3) in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.
Neither a member of the two international treaties of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, nor the countries that have signed a trademark protection agreement with China, then the foreigner or foreign enterprise should register the trademark in accordance with the principle of reciprocity. That is to say, China's application for trademark registration of Chinese citizens and enterprises will be treated in the same way.
Business China tips: the foreigner or foreign enterprise that entrusts the trademark agency to register the Chinese trademark is also different from the citizens and enterprises in China, which is mainly reflected in the filling out of the documents and materials needed for the trademark application and agency:
1) The nationality of the principal shall be specified in the proxy letter of trademark registration submitted by a foreigner or a foreign enterprise, and the notarization and certification formalities of the agent of a foreigner or a foreign enterprise and the documents related to it shall be handled in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.
2) When applying for registration of a Chinese trademark, a foreign enterprise shall submit a photocopy of the registration certificate of the country or country concerned. The photocopy of the registration certificate of the foreign office in China and the permanent representative office is invalid. The above documents are written in foreign languages and should be accompanied by Chinese translations. Without the translation, it will not be deemed as submitted.
3) If a foreign natural person handles the registration of a Chinese trademark in person, it shall submit a copy of a passport and a permanent residence permit for a foreigner, a foreigner's residence permit or a foreigner's residence certificate issued by the public security department and within the period of validity (more than one year).
4) A foreign applicant shall designate the domestic receiver in the application form to receive the legal documents of the Trademark Office and the Trademark Review Board's subsequent trademark business. The recipient address in China should be detailed in the administrative divisions of provinces, municipalities and counties.
2. foreigners or foreign enterprises require territorial extension by Madrid Agreement.
In October 4, 1989, our country became a party to the Madrid Agreement on the international registration of trademarks. According to the second paragraph of Article 1 of the Madrid Agreement, the nationals of the States parties may apply to the International Bureau of intellectual property rights of the International Bureau of intellectual property through the registration authority of the original country, and can require to extend the territory and obtain the exclusive right and protection right of other trademarks in other Contracting States.
Those who wish to extend the trademark rights to foreigners or foreign enterprises through the Madrid agreement need to pay attention to the following points:
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Foreigners or foreign enterprises requiring territorial extension must be a member of the special alliance for international registration of trademarks.
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China stipulates that the protection obtained through international registration can be extended to China only when the trademark owner applies for it.
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The category of goods or services required for registering an extension of trademark registration shall be consistent with the registered international trademark commodity or service category.
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The Madrid Agreement on the international registration of trademarks applies only to the registered trademark that has been registered from the date after China has entered, that is, the international trademark registered since October 4, 1989 can require the territorial extension protection in accordance with the regulations.
3 Foreigners or foreign enterprises go through trademark registration in person.
According to the fifth article of the regulations on the Implementation Of The Trademark Law of China, the eighteenth article of trademark law must be entrusted to a foreigner or a foreign enterprise for the registration of a trademark. The name of a foreigner or a foreign enterprise means that those foreigners and foreign enterprise who have no regular residence or business place in China. That is to say, foreigners or foreign enterprises with regular habitation or business offices in China can handle trademark registration in person. Such as foreigners live in China, various foreign institutions stationed in China, foreign joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned enterprises, etc.
It seems simple for foreigners and foreign enterprises to register trademarks in China, but the problem is that foreigners may not know or grasp the relevant legal provisions, regulations and judgment standards of trademark registration, the best way for foreigners to register in China is to consult or entrust a regular professional trademark agency to ensure the work of trademark registration to be carried out smoothly.
III Time & documents for foreigners to register trademarks in China.
1. Time required for foreigners to register their trademarks in China.
Generally speaking, it takes 13 to 18 months for foreigners to register their trademarks in China from application to approval. In this period, preliminary examination takes 3 months; the next substantive review takes about 6 months, the first trial announcement (i.e., the dissenting period) takes 3 months, and the registered trademark registration certificate takes about 1 months.
2. Materials required by foreigners to register trademarks in China
1) Applying for trademark registration, each application is submitted with one copy of the letter of entrustment in each category, one copy of the positive copy of the application and fifteen trademark patterns. The length and width of the trade mark shall not exceed ten centimeters. For color marks, two copies of black and white ink should also be submitted. The trademark of regular script can be exempted from the pattern. As for the registration of the trademarks of chemicals, new medicines, Chinese medicine and medicinal liquor, one copy of the certified copy of the approval documents approved by the relevant authorities of the government or the corresponding departments that has been submitted to the government from August 1, 1984.
2) for those who entrust the agency to handle the registration of the Chinese trademark, the foreign applicant should also submit a trademark agency letter of attorney, which indicates the application country, the scope and the authority of the agent. The copy of the applicant's registration certificate, including the approval certificate, which is also required, and the details could be consulted.
3) For a foreigner or a foreign enterprise who apply for trademark registration or handle other trademark matters, Chinese characters should be used (the Chinese version of the foreign language should be attached to the Chinese version). The application for the trademark should be marked with the authority of the agent and the nationality of the client. Applicants from foreign countries (regions) should fill in the names of Nationalities (regions), the names of foreign applicants and the addresses of foreign applicants, and provide the corresponding Chinese translations. (Note: the applicant's name, surname, person's name, address and terms of science and technology that do not have the uniform Chinese translation should be explain their meanings.)
4) If a foreigner or a foreign enterprise applies for the renewal of a registered trademark, each trademark is submitted one copy of the entrustment letter, one original and one copy of the application, ten trademark drawings and a Chinese original registration certificate.
5) For a foreigner or a foreign enterprise who apply for the transference of a registered trademark, each trademark is submitted with one copy of the letter of entrustment, one original and one copy of the application and the original registration certificate in China.
6) if a foreigner or a foreign enterprise applying for the change of the name or address of the registrant of a registered trademark, each trademark is submitted with a copy of the original copy of the application and the original registration certificate in China. When changing the name of the registrant, one original and one copy of the registration certificate of the national name should also be submitted.
7) if a foreigner or a foreign enterprise applies for the registration of the trademark license contract, one original and one copy of the record format and three copies of the contract shall be submitted.
IV Regulations of BUSINESS CHINA proxy for foreigners to register trademarks in China.
1) The applicant shall provide reasons and possible evidence for the retrial of the trademark, the retrial of the trademark, the ruling of the objection, the ruling of the dispute of the registered trademark, and the revocation of the decision of the registration of the registered trademark. The application form can be prepared and filled by Business China.
2)The letter of entrustment issued by the applicant (the letter of attorney should indicate the nationality of the applicant) the relevant registration documents and other proof documents about the country shall be notarized and certified according to the principle of reciprocity.
3)Before filling in the application for trademark registration, the applicant should classify the specified goods correctly according to the Chinese classification of goods. In case of difficulties, a sample of goods or instructions shall be sent. [Business China] will offer assistance. The name of the commodity and its purpose and main materials should be listed in the application form.
4) If the name of the applicant is specified, it should be noted in the application form. If not specified, Business China will be submitted the translated name on behalf of the applicant. If need to change, the application for change should be submitted after the trademark registration is approved.
5)the words and graphics in the trade mark need to be explained. If you want to register the translation, you can entrust Business China to translate, write and make the trade mark.
If you have further inquiries, please feel free to consult Business China:
proposal@set-up-company.com.
