Trademark reform improving business environment

A new round of trademark registration reform focused on improving quality and efficiency is having a positive impact on the country's business environment, according to a senior official from the National Intellectual Property Administration.

"To strengthen IP protection and optimize the business environment, the country has made a series of efforts to improve the trademark registration process since 2018, and remarkable achievements have been made," said Du Hongyu, an official from the Trademark Office at NIPA.

At present, the average time it takes to register a trademark has been reduced to five months in China, putting the country at the forefront of the world. Public services around trademarks are more efficient and convenient than ever before, Du said at a recent meeting in Shanghai.

Du said the trademark office, which is in charge of handling filings, has stepped up its work in the front-end process, and cracked down on malicious registrations.

In 2018 alone, some 100,000 abnormal trademark applications were rejected.

In the first nine months of this year, more than 32,000 abnormal applications for trademark registrations were rejected, government data show.

With the trademark reform, enterprises' awareness of trademark protection has significantly improved.

According to NIPA, during the nine-month period, the number of trademark applications in China reached 5.7 million, and the cumulative number of effective registered trademarks reached 24.16 million. It means there is one registered trademark for every five market entities, Du said.

Meanwhile, the number of trademark applications from foreign enterprises in China reached 193,000, an increase of 12.5 percent year-on-year.

The growth shows China's business environment is operating well and that foreign enterprises have faith in China's intellectual property system, the official said.

The trademark office will continue to improve its quality management system for handling trademark filings and improve public awareness through special campaigns, Du said.

The time it takes to file a trademark is expected to be further shortened, and the construction of a modern trademark registration system will be accelerated, according to the trademark office's work plan.

Du stressed that strengthening IP protection requires joint efforts from all sides, adding enterprises, society and government need to work together to create a business-friendly environment, which "respects intellectual value and protects IP".