Trademark Revocation and Invalidity in China

Trademark revocation and invalidity in China are two ways in which a registered trade mark may be removed from the Trademarks Register. In China a registered trade mark must be used within 3 years of being registered. One can assume that a significant portion of “hijacked trade marks”are revoked in China because they are not used for three consecutive years.

In China, one of the biggest problems faced by many overseas companies is that their brand has been squatted meaning registered with bad faith. Brand owners must take actions such as opposition or invalidation in order to regain their trademarks. Tannet can help enterprise analyze the situation and devise a strategy for you to file petition to invalidate or oppose the squatter's application.

Trademark Revocation
In China, if a trademark has not been used without proper reasons for an uninterrupted period of three years, any entity or individual may file an application to the China Trademark Office (CTMO) for revocation of the registered trademark. Such revocation action on the grounds of non-use can only be filed at least three years after the registration of the trademark.

For instance, if you want to file a revocation against a certain mark in 2018, the targeted marked should at least be granted for registration in the year 2015. The period of three-year counts from the date of registration.

What if your registered trademark be revoked by others?
The holder of the registered trademark is entitled to submit a response and evidence to the CTMO within two months as of receiving the notice of revocation proceedings from the CTMO.

In response to a revocation action based on non-use, the trademark holder may either submit evidence proving actual commercial use of the trademark within the 3 years prior to the revocation application, or he/she may submit the reasonable grounds for non-use, including force majeure, government regulations, bankruptcy or liquidation, etc.

If a registered trademark is revoked, the CTMO will publish the cancellation in the Trademark Gazette. The trademark holder will no longer own an exclusive right in the trademark as of the publication of the cancellation.

Trademark Invalidity
Invalidity is a claim for cancellation of a trade mark registration on the grounds that the trade mark should not have been accepted for registration in the first place. The most common claims are that there already existed a prior application or registration for the same or a similar mark in relation to the same or similar goods or services, or that the same or a similar trade mark had been widely used in the market place for a considerable period of time such that subsequent registration by another party should not have been possible. Alternatively it may be possible to claim that the trade mark is entirely descriptive of the goods or services for which it is registered.

If a registered trademark is invalidated, the CTMO will publish the invalidation in the Trademark Gazette. The exclusive right in the registered trademark will be forfeited ab initio.

Contact Us
If you have further inquires, please do not hesitate to contact Tannet at anytime, anywhere by simply visiting Tannet’s website english.tannet-group.com, or calling Hong Kong hotline at 852-27826888 or China hotline at 86-755-82143512, or emailing to tannet-solution@hotmail.com. You are also welcome to visit our office situated in 16/F, Taiyangdao Bldg 2020, Dongmen Rd South, Luohu, Shenzhen, China.

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