China Reviews Fifth Trade Mark Law Amendment

China is preparing to revise its Trade Mark Law. The draft of the fifth revision was submitted for its first reading to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on 22 December 2025. This follows the State Council executive meeting's discussion and approval of the draft on 14 November 2025. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the revised law is expected to be formally enacted as early as the first half of 2026.

This legislative push aims to address long-standing issues in the trade mark ecosystem, including bad-faith registrations, trade mark hoarding, and improper use. The proposed changes signal a shift from a predominantly registration-centric system toward one that increasingly emphasises the principles of good faith and genuine use.

Core Revisions and Implications for Rights Holders

While the full text of the draft under review is not yet public, analysis of official reports ^[1] reveals several operational changes that will significantly impact brand owners.

1. Stricter Regulation of Bad-Faith Filing
   The draft provides that applications not for the purpose of use and that clearly exceed normal production and business needs shall not be registered. This provides a clearer legal basis for authorities to reject and penalise trade mark hoarding and squatting activities. This formalises and strengthens existing administrative practice.
    
2. New Penalties for "Misleading Use"
   The draft introduces specific penalties for using a registered trade mark in a way that misleads the public. Enforcement departments are authorised to order rectification, impose fines (up to CNY 50,000, approximately US$7,150), and, in serious cases, cancel the registration. This places a greater compliance burden on owners to ensure their marks are used correctly and consistently.
    
3. Enhanced Protection for Well-Known Trade Marks
   A significant change expands the scope of protection to cover both registered and unregistered well-known trade marks against imitation on dissimilar goods or services. This offers stronger, cross-class protection and is a critical tool for brands with a significant reputation in China, aiming to more thoroughly prevent malicious squatting.
    
4. Streamlined Procedures
   To improve efficiency, the draft shortens the opposition period from three (3) months to two (2) and formally recognises the validity of electronic documents. These adjustments aim to simplify procedures for applicants and adapt to the trend of digital administration.
    
5. Strengthened Use Obligations
   The draft reinforces use obligations and explicitly empowers the trade mark authority to ex officio cancel registrations that have become generic names or have not been used for three consecutive years without proper reason. This proactive "deadwood" clearance mechanism underscores the importance of genuine commercial use to maintain registration.

Evolution of the Draft and Context

The fifth draft follows the fourth amendment in 2019 ^[2], which had a relatively narrow scope. The 2019 changes introduced provisions to reject malicious applications not intended for use, increased punitive damages for infringement from three (3) times to five (5) times, and stipulated that counterfeit goods could not re-enter commerce even after the infringing marks were removed.

In 2023, CNIPA published an ambitious preliminary draft for public comment ^[3]. It included some groundbreaking proposals such as a "one-mark-per-class" rule to prevent duplicate registrations, a mandatory declaration of use every five (5) years, a compulsory trade mark ownership transfer mechanism in invalidation proceedings, and a rule requiring malicious applicants to pay compensation to genuine right holders. While welcome by many rights holders for its forward-thinking approach, it faced debate over its potential impact on China's first-to-file system.

A subsequent draft was prepared by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) in May 2025 ^[4]. This version  focused on precise legal refinements. Notable changes introduced included adding "dynamic signs" as registrable marks, clarifying that a court's judgment should be based on the factual and legal circumstances at the time the administrative decision was made, imposing penalties and damages on parties bringing a trade mark lawsuit with malicious intent, and introducing fines and/or cancellation of the registration for unauthorised alteration of a registered mark or its manner of use.

This MOJ draft appears to have formed the basis of the version now under legislative review, indicating a measured, conservative approach to reform.

Key Takeaways for Rights Holders

The draft law highlights an evolution in China's system, with increased focus on "genuine use, robust protection, and market order." For trade mark owners, several areas demand attention:

• Portfolio Management: Proactively review and prune portfolios to ensure registrations are in genuine use or have a clear plan for use to avoid cancellation for non-use.
• Usage Compliance: Ensure registered marks are used correctly in the marketplace to avoid risks related to "misleading use" or unauthorised alteration.
• Enforcement Strategy: The strengthened protection for well-known marks provides new avenues for action against infringers.
• Opposition Proceedings: Adapt strategies to the shortened two-month opposition period to protect rights effectively.

We are closely monitoring the legislative process and will provide further updates as appropriate once the full text of the draft is made public.

[1] (Chinese only): https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2025/12-22/10537905.shtml; http://www.xinhuanet.com/20251222/5108c3757afc46cca125c598129e0f20/c.html 
[2] (Bilingual version of Chinese and English) https://regional.chinadaily.com.cn/pdf/TrademarkLawofthePeople'sRepublicofChina(Revisedin2019).pdf 
[3] (Chinese only) https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2023/1/13/art_75_181410.html 
[4] This draft was not published publicly. Interested parties can contact the author for a copy of its content.