Laws of the People's Republic of China

PROVISIONAL MEASURES FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE
REPRODUCTION OF TRADEMARK

(Promulgated on December 21, 1985 by the State
Administration for Industry and Commerce)

 

 

 

SUBJECT: TRADEMARK

ISSUING-DEPT: STATE ADMINISTRATION OF INDUSTRY & COMMERCE

ISSUE-DATE: 12/21/1985

IMPLEMENT-DATE: 12/21/1985

LENGTH: 1504 words

TEXT:

[Article 1] These Measures are formulated to implement the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China and strengthen the administration of the reproduction of trademarks, so as to safeguard socialist economic order, protect the exclusive right of registered trademarks and ensure the interests of consumers.

[Article 2] All enterprises which hold "business licences" granted by the administrative organs for industry and commerce and which have been checked and ratified and given approval to contract trademark printing, printing and dying, plate making, seal engraving, character weaving, sun eroding, iron printing, casting, pressing, gilding, appliqueing and other relevant business may reproduce trademarks.

It is strictly forbiden to contract the reproduction of trademarks without a licence or to undertake work outside the scope of one's operations.

[Article 3] Enterprises, institutions or industrial and commercial individuals who need to reproduce their registered trademark symbol shall present their Trademark Registration Certificate and apply to the local administrative bureau for industry and commerce at county level for a Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark, and then, based on this Certificate, will commission the reproducing unit to undertake the reproduction.

Enterprises, institutions or industrial and commercial individuals who use others'registered trademarks on the basis of contracts authorising the use of trademarks and who need to reproduce their trademark symbols shall present the licensing contracts and apply to the local administrative bureau for industry and commerce at county level for a Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark and then, based on this Certificate, will commission the reproducing unit to undertake the reproduction.

Parties who need to reproduce an unregistered trademark symbol are required to present their business licence and apply to the local administrative bureau for industry and commerce at county level for a Power of Attorney for the Reproduction of an Unregistered Trademark, and then, based on this Power of Attorney, will commission the reproducing unit to undertake the reproduction.

[Article 4] When issuing a Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark, the administrative organ for industry and commerce shall carefully examine the Trademark Registration Certificate.  Where there is a need to reproduce the registered trademark symbol, it shall be examined as to whether it contains such words as "Registered Trademark" or the sign "Registered" OR, whether it is marked with the name or address of the enterprise and whether the relevant certificate is required to be submitted for examination where there is a need to mark the word or sign for "Quality" or "Famous Brand".  The term of validity of the Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark shall not exceed three months.

When granting a Power of Attorney for the Reproduction of an Unregistered Trademark, the administrative organ for industry and commerce shall carefully examine the business licence.  Where there is a need to reproduce an unregistered trademark symbol, it shall be examined as to whether it is in violation of Items (1), (2), (3) or (4) of Article 8 of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China.

The administrative organ for industry and commerce may collect costs for granting Certificates for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark and Powers of Attorney for the Reproduction of an Unregistered Trademark.

[Article 5] When contracting the reproduction of a trademark, the unit undertaking the reproduction of trademarks shall collect the Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark or the Power of Attorney for the Reproduction of an Unregistered Trademark.  The trademark symbol reproduced shall be identical with the trademark symbol attached to the Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark and the Power of Attorney for the Reproduction of an Unregistered Trademark.  The unit undertaking the reproduction of trademarks must establish a reproduction registration system, and the Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark or the Power of Attorney for the Reproduction of an Unregistered Trademark, as well as a sample of the trademark symbol reproduced will be filed for future reference.  The period of time for keeping the registers and the reserved certifying documents and samples shall not be less than one year.

[Article 6] The unit undertaking the reproduction of a trademark shall refuse to reproduce trademarks in any of the following cases:

(1) Where the party requesting the reproduction of a trademark symbol does not submit the Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark or the Power of Attorney for the Reproduction of an Unregistered Trademark;

(2) Where the registered trademark symbol to be reproduced is not the same as the trademark symbol attached to the Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark;

(3) Where the Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark has been altered without permission or the Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark has exceeded its term of validity;

(4) Where the unregistered trademark symbol to be reproduced contains the words "Registered Trademark" or the sign "Registered" or "R", or the name or address of the enterprise is not marked or the marked name and address do not identify with the Certificate submitted, or where there is the need to mark the words or signs for "Quality" or "Famous Brand", but no relevant certificate is submitted.

[Article 7] The sale of trademark symbols is strictly forbidden.  Any abandoned or defective trademark symbols found in reproduction or use must be destroyed.

[Article 8] The administrative organ for industry and commerce shall frequently inspect local reproduction of trademarks.  The administrative bureau for industry and commerce at county level and above may issue criticism, circulars of criticism or take-over trademark symbols and printing plates where parties have violated Articles 1, 2, 5, 6 or 7 of these Measures.  In a serious case, the illegal income may be confiscated and a fine up to RMB 2,000 may be imposed.  Those who have inflicted economic losses upon others shall be responsible for paying compensation.  Those who are directly responsible for the reproduction or sale of others' registered trademark symbols without authorisation and who are guilty of passing off imitation trademarks shall be transferred to the judicial organs for investigation of their criminal responsibility.

[Article 9] A foreign enterprise or individual who needs to commission a Chinese organisation with the reproduction of its registered trademark symbol in China shall present its Trademark Registration Certificate or a Chinese translation of its Trademark Registration Certificate issued by the department in charge of trademarks of the county (region) where it or he is located, to apply to the provincial level administrative bureau for industry and commerce where the unit undertaking the reproduction is located for a Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark and then, based on this Certificate, will commission the reproducing unit to undertake the reproduction.

A foreign party who needs to commission a Chinese organisation to reproduce another party's registered trademark symbol in China shall present the Chinese translation of the notarised certificate for the authorised use of a trademark and apply to the provincial level administrative bureau for industry and commerce where the unit undertaking the reproduction is located for a Certificate for the Reproduction of a Registered Trademark and then, based on this Certificate, will commission the reproducing unit to undertake the reproduction.

A foreign party who needs to commission a Chinese organisation to reproduce an unregistered trademark symbol in China shall present the Chinese translation of the business licence notarised and granted in the county (region) where it has its place of business and apply to the provincial level administrative bureau for industry and commerce where the unit undertaking the reproduction is located for a Power of Attorney for the Reproduction of an Unregistered Trademark, and then based on this Power of Attorney will commission a reproducing unit to undertake the reproduction.

[Article 10] Enterprises or individuals from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao who need to have their trademarks reproduced may carry out matters with reference to Article 9.

[Article 11] These Measures shall come into force on the date of promulgation.

The Regulations for the Administration of the Reproduction of Trademarks promulgated by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on March 23, 1983 shall be abrogated on the same date.