关于申请认定驰名商标若干问题的通知
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(Issued on 28 April 2000) To the Administrations for Industry and Commerce of each province, autonomous region, municipality directly under the central government and municipality with independent development plans: With the promulgation and implementation of the Recognition and Administration of Well-known Trademarks Tentative Provisions, China's recognition and protection of well-known trademarks started to become governed by legislation and standards, and well-known trademarks began to play a major role in market competition as powerful legal weapons with which to protect the lawful rights and interests of enterprises. However, in the course of accepting enterprise applications for the recognition of well-known trademarks, we have also discovered certain problems. Some enterprises are not familiar with the legal requirements for applications for the recognition of well-known trademarks or with the application procedures. Some trademark agencies, as well as some organizations and individuals not qualified to act as trademark agents, have capitalized on enterprises' anxiousness to have their well-known trademarks recognized by charging them high fees, thereby not only causing those enterprises to suffer loss but also undermining the seriousness of the recognition of well-known trademarks. We hereby notify you as follows of relevant problems concerning applications for the recognition of well-known trademarks, in order to further standardize the well-known trademark application procedure and prevent the continued occurrence of the above-mentioned problems, and to ensure that the recognition of well-known trademarks proceeds in a normal and orderly manner. 1. An enterprise which needs to apply for recognition of a well-known trademark must submit the relevant documents through the administration for industry and commerce of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government in which it is located (the "Provincial AIC"). The Provincial AIC shall conduct a preliminary review of the relevant documents on the well-known trademark which is the subject of the enterprise's application for recognition, and shall give a signed opinion upon such review. Each Provincial AIC shall mail to us in a timely manner the relevant information in respect of which it has conducted a preliminary review and given a signed opinion. 2. An enterprise may apply for recognition of a well-known trademark if its trademark rights are injured in any of the following ways: (1) a trademark which is the same as or similar to the trademark which is the subject of the applicant's application for recognition is registered or used by a third party for dissimilar goods or services, thereby potentially harming the rights and interests of the applicant; (2) text which is the same as or similar to the trademark applied for by the applicant is registered or used by a third party as part of its enterprise name, thereby potentially causing mistaken recognition among the public; (3) the trademark which is the subject of the applicant's application for recognition is registered abroad in bad faith by a third party, thereby potentially harming the applicant's business development abroad; or (4) the rights and interests in the trademark which is the subject of the applicant's application for recognition are harmed in another way and such harm is difficult to resolve. 3. When applying for recognition of a well-known trademark, an enterprise shall submit a written application for trademark recognition, which must contain evidence of the harm to its rights and interests in the trademark. In addition, the enterprise shall truthfully complete an Application Form for Recognition of a Well-Known Trademark and furnish relevant evidence. 4. The main evidence to be furnished by an enterprise as required in the Application Form for Recognition of a Well-Known Trademark is chiefly as follows: 1) a photocopy of the business licence of the applicant for recognition of a well-known trademark; 2) if the applicant for recognition of a well-known trademark has appointed a trademark agency, the power of attorney signed and sealed by the applicant or the agreement (contract) of appointment entered into by the applicant and the agency shall be provided; 3) the main economic indices for the past three years of the main goods or services for which the trademark is used (photocopies of each year's financial or other statements bearing the applicant's special seal for financial affairs and the special seals of the local finance and tax authorities shall be provided; the evidence as to the industry shall be issued by the State-level industry association or the State-level administrative authority of the industry); 4) domestic and foreign sales or business data and sales or business areas for the main goods or services for which the trademark is used (photocopies of the relevant main sales invoices or sales contracts shall be provided); 5) details of the registrations of the trademark in China and foreign countries (details of the registrations of the trademark in all classes of goods or services and in all countries or areas shall be specified, and photocopies of the relevant trademark registration certificates provided); 6) details of the advertising for the trademark in recent years (photocopies of the relevant main advertising contracts and advertising pictures shall be provided); 7) the time of earliest use and the time of continuous use of the trademark (the earliest sales invoice or contract for goods or services using the trademark or a photocopy of the earliest advertisement or trademark registration certificate for the trademark shall be provided); and 8) other documentary evidence of the trademark's being well-known (such as a photocopy of the document conferring the title of provincially famous trademark*). 5. When applying for recognition of a well-known trademark, an enterprise may prepare the application submission itself or appoint a trademark agency approved by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. No Provincial AIC shall accept application submissions from any organizations or individuals that were appointed to prepare the same but are not qualified to act as trademark agents. 6. A trademark agency that accepts appointment by an enterprise to handle matters concerning application for recognition of a well-known trademark may not charge its client any fees other than the appropriate agency fee. 7. All Provincial AICs shall strengthen their guidance and administration of applications for the recognition of well-known trademarks by enterprises in their respective jurisdictions in strict accordance with the Recognition and Administration of Well-known Trademarks Tentative Provisions and the spirit of this Circular, and give more publicity to the objectives and functions of well-known trademark recognition. Violations of laws or breaches of discipline by enterprises in the course of their application for recognition of well-known trademarks, such as the furnishing of false evidence or the use of other improper means to deceive the administrative authorities, shall be seriously investigated and dealt with in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. |
