Trademark registration in the People’s Republic of China: features of the procedure

Abstract

The article examines the specifics of the individual stages of the trademark application registration procedure at the Trademark Office of the People’s Republic of China, and draws parallels with the specifics in the Russian Federation. Special attention is paid to the comparative legal analysis of Chinese and Russian legislation, including differences in approaches to registration of non-traditional trademarks (for example, color marks), procedural deadlines, resolution of collisions during simultaneous filing of applications and the institution of pre-use. The relevance of the work lies in the possibility of both applied use in building a brand registration strategy in China, and the doctrinal development of legal thought to improve Russian legislation, in particular, the author notes preventive mechanisms against patent trolling. The article is of interest to experts in the field of intellectual property law, entrepreneurs working in the Chinese market, and specialists studying foreign experience in combating counterfeiting. The key findings may be useful for improving the Russian legal system in the field of trademarks.