ADVICE ON RESOLVING PROBLEMS
CONCERNING TRADEMARK AND COMPANY NAME

ICTM [1999] No. 81

Administration Offices for Industry and Commerce (AIC) of all provinces, autonomous regions, central-managed municipalities and cities:

To effectively enforce Trademark Law and the relevant regulations on company name registration administration, to actually protect the exclusive trademark rights and company name rights, and to safeguard fair competition orders and social public interests, the advice on resolving the problems, concerning trademark and company name is hereby confirmed as the following:

1. The exclusive trademark rights and company name rights are granted through legal proceedings and shall be protected respectively under trademark and company name registration administration laws and regulations.
2. The attaining of the exclusive trademark rights and company name rights shall conform with the principle of bona fides regulated in Civil Law and Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and shall not make use of other party's trademark or company name's fame in unfair means.
3. Trademark is the sign to distinguish different origins of goods or services, which is constituted of words, designs or the combination of the two; company name is the sign to distinguish different market-players, which is constituted of geographical location, trade name, industry name or business scope and organization type among which trade name is the principle to distinguish different enterprises.
4. The word in the trademark identical or similar to the trade name contained in the company name, which confuses (including the possibility of confusing, ditto in the below) the subjects and the origins of their goods or services, thus constitutes unfair competition. It shall be prohibited in accordance with the law.
5. The above-mentioned "confuse" shall mainly include:

1. To register the word(s) as a trademark identical or similar to the trade name in other's company name, and to cause mistaking or misunderstanding by the relevant public about the company name proprietor and the trademark registrant;
2. To register the trade name, as a part of the company name, identical or similar to other's registered trademark, and to cause mistaking or misunderstanding by the relevant public about the trademark registrant and company name proprietor.

1. The principles of safeguarding fair competition and protecting prior legal right holder's interests shall be applied when dealing with the confusions between trademark and company name.
2. The following conditions shall be met when dealing with the cases regarding the confusions between trademark and trade name:

1. the prior right holder's legal interests are infringed where confusion exists between trademark and company name;
2. the trademark has been registered and so has the company name;
3. the request (including those have been filed but not yet handled) shall be filed within five years counting from the trademark or company name registration date, while the registrations of bad faith shall not be governed under this time limit.

• Where the trademark registrant or company name owner believes that his interests are infringed, he may file the complaint in written form with State Administration Bureau for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) or the province-leveled AICs with the relevant evidences on the infringement attached.
• The cases regarding the confusion between the trademark and company name occurring in the same provincial region shall be handled by the province-leveled AIC; those crossing provincial areas shall be handled by the SAIC.

  The requests to protect exclusive trademark rights shall be taken by the company registration departments of the AICs of province-level or above; the modification of the company name shall be executed by the company name registration departments and be recorded with Trademark Office and Company Registration Office of the SAIC after the responsible department and trademark administration department have made the decision in accordance with the company name registration administration regulations.

  The requests to protect company name shall be taken by the trademark administration departments of the AICs of province-level or above; the removal of the registered trademark shall be filed with Trademark Office of the SAIC by the responsible departments, with their comments, for decision, and be handled by Trademark Office of the SAIC consulting with Company Registration Office of the SAIC based on the regulations stipulated in Trademark Law and Detailed Implementation Regulations under the PRC Trademark Law.

• The confusions in the use of the trademark and company name caused by violations of the regulations on trademark administration and company name registration administration shall be settled by the AIC departments of governing right by legal means.