CHANG TSI
Insights
China’s fifth amendment to the Trademark Law has reached a critical milestone.
On December 27, 2025, the National People’s Congress (NPC) published the long-anticipated Draft Amendment to the PRC Trademark Law for public consultation. Earlier official disclosures confirmed that the draft had been formally submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for first reading on December 22. This marks a decisive shift: the current round of amendments has entered substantive legislative deliberation at the national level, moving beyond ministerial research and preparatory stages.
The newly released draft consists of 9 chapters and 84 articles. Compared with the Draft Amendment (for Comments) issued by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on January 23, 2023, the NPC version reflects notable structural and substantive adjustments. Several proposals advanced at the CNIPA stage have not been retained, indicating a recalibration of legislative priorities at the national level.
Overall, as emphasized by CNIPA Commissioner Shen Changyu, the amendment adopts a problem-oriented approach, targeting persistent issues in trademark practice, refining registration, administration, and protection mechanisms, and elevating mature and widely accepted practices into statutory rules. Key highlights include:
1. Introduction of a new dedicated chapter on “Conditions for Trademark Registration” (Chapter II), consolidating previously scattered provisions.
2. Clarification that “dynamic signs” may be registered as trademarks, while excluding signs arising solely from the nature of the goods, necessary for achieving a technical effect, or giving the goods substantial value—such as certain color combinations, sounds, or dynamic effects.
3. Express refusal of applications filed without intent to use and clearly exceeding normal business needs.
4. Shortening the opposition period from three months to two months.
5. Strengthened protection for well-known trademarks, extending the prohibition against bad-faith registration on dissimilar goods regardless of whether the well-known mark is registered.
1. Clarification that examination or adjudication should generally be suspended where the determination of prior rights depends on the outcome of another judicial or administrative proceeding; courts reviewing refusals or invalidation decisions shall assess facts as of the time the challenged decision was rendered.
2. Introduction of administrative penalties for bad-faith trademark filings causing adverse social impact, including warnings and fines of up to CNY 100,000/ USD14,000.
3. Clear sanctions for misleading use of registered trademarks, ranging from orders to rectify and administrative fines to cancellation of the registration in serious cases.
1. Enhanced investigative powers in trademark infringement cases, particularly regarding access to, copying, and preservation of electronic evidence.
2. Improved coordination mechanisms for transferring trademark infringement cases suspected of constituting criminal offenses.
3. Explicit inclusion of reasonable enforcement costs incurred by right holders in the calculation of damages.
4. Statutory liability for malicious initiation of trademark litigation, including administrative penalties and civil liability for losses caused.
From a procedural perspective, a full statutory revision in China typically progresses through several stages. For the Trademark Law, this includes policy consensus, inclusion in the NPC Standing Committee’s legislative plan or the State Council’s annual legislative agenda, drafting led by the State Council (with CNIPA as the key authority), followed by multiple rounds of consultation and submission to the NPC Standing Committee. At the NPC level, the “three-reading system” remains the standard legislative procedure, particularly for new laws and comprehensive revisions. While the Legislation Law allows passage after two readings under certain circumstances, such cases remain relatively limited in practice.
The current public consultation period runs for 45 days. Following its conclusion, the NPC Standing Committee will continue deliberations. Absent major institutional disagreements, the amendment could reasonably be finalized within two to three committee sessions. On this basis, the revised Trademark Law could be adopted as early as the first half of 2026, or later in 2026, with a customary transitional period before it enters into force.
We will continue to monitor the legislative process closely and provide in-depth analysis of the key provisions and their practical implications. Stay tuned for further updates.
