CNIPA proposes guidance on trademarks that incorporate geographic names
Guidelines on the Registration and Use of Trademarks Containing Geographical Names were released by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on January 19, 2023.
The Guidance aims to increase entities’ awareness of the laws governing trademarks that contain geographical names, the risks associated with the stability of those rights, and the limits of those rights.
As they violate Articles 10.1.2 (contain names of foreign countries), 10.1.7 (deceptive description of the place of origin of goods or services), 10.1.8 (harmful to socialist morals or customs), or Article 10.2 (contain administrative divisions at or above the county level or famous foreign geographical names), marks containing geographical names are typically rejected from registration or prohibited from use.
The Guidance specifies the following instances when geographical name-containing marks cannot be registered or used:
- marks containing words identical with or similar to the state name of a foreign country, with the following exceptions: where consent has been given by the government of the country; where the mark bears different meanings and would not mislead the public as a geographical name; or where the state name is independent from the rest composing elements of the mark and just functions to indicate the country of origin
- marks containing words identical with or similar to geographical names of administrative divisions at or above the county level, specifically: marks composed of geographical names of administrative divisions at or above the county level; marks containing geographical names of administrative divisions at or above the county level; marks containing words similar to geographical names of administrative divisions at or above the county level; marks composed of abbreviations of two or more geographical names of administrative divisions at or above the county level;
- marks composed of words with meanings aside from geographical names, where the words are used in combination with words such as “city” or “county”, which highlight the meaning of geographical name;
- marks containing words identical with or similar to foreign geographical names well-known to the Chinese public, specifically: marks composed of foreign geographical names well-known to the Chinese public; marks containing foreign geographical names well-known to the Chinese public; or marks containing words similar to foreign geographical names well-known to the Chinese public;
- marks containing geographical names of administrative divisions under the county level or foreign geographical names not widely known to the Chinese public, where such places are famous for producing certain goods or for provision of certain services;
- marks containing geographical names with political connotations;
- marks containing names of state-level new areas or state-level development zones;
- marks containing names of key state projects, which contain geographical names;
- marks containing names of places or locations for religious activities;
- marks containing names of mountains, rivers, tourist attractions, public buildings and etc., which are considered as public resources, with the following exceptions: the name of place is independent from the rest distinctive composing elements and the name of place just indicates the location of the applicant; or the name of place is one of the composing elements of collective mark or certification mark.
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– You could see How To Register a Trademark in China here.
– You could visit here to see the Procedure of Trademark in China.
– You could visit here to check the Required documents for filing a trademark in China.
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