The Trademark Law of China was adopted on 23 August 1982, and revised on 22 February 1993 and 27 October 2001. Registered trademarks indicate trademarks that have been approved and registered by the trademark Office, and these include trademarks, service marks, collective marks, and certification marks.
Precise IP Firm’s trademark services include:
1.Pre-filing advice on trademark registrations;
2.Chinese trademark availability search;
3.Trademark applications and registrations in China and Hong Kong;
4.Renewal of trademark
The Patent Law of China went into force on 12 March 1984, and was amended on 4 September 1992 and 25 August 2002.
There are three types of patents in China:
- Invention patents
- Utility model patents
- Design patents
For Chinese invention patents, they must possess novelty, inventiveness (the same as non-obviousness) and practical applicability (utility).
For Chinese utility models, they are sometimes referred to as small inventions because they have comparatively lower level of inventive step and are less costly than an invention. Subject to preliminary examination, a utility model only takes several months from filing to grant. Therefore utility model protection is worthwhile for some invention-creations that have small technical improvements but are of significant commercial value.
For Chinese design patents, an application is also preliminarily examined only. A design is an artistic creation which features a decorative or aesthetic exterior appearance of an article, unlike invention or utility model which involve technical solutions.
Precise IP Firm’s patent services include:
1.Original drafting of patent specifications in Chinese or English;
2.Filing and prosecuting patent applications;
3.Maintaining issued patents;
4.International patent prosecution.
Practice Areas:Electronics Semiconductors, computer hardware, digital signal processing, semiconductor processing and packaging, communications, etc Information Technology Computer networks, image/data processing, character and speech recognition, etc Engineering Chemical, electrical, mechanical, electromechanical and biomedical, comprising communications, composite structures, hydraulics, bio-engineering, surgical instruments, vision and robotics, optics, heat transfer, material processing, manufacturing processes, compressors, etc Chemical and Biological Sciences Chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology and molecular biology, life science, pharmaceuticals, etc.
The Copyright Law of China was adopted on 7 September 1990. The final version went into effect on 27 October 2001.
Copyright protection is available for original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible form, whether published or unpublished. The categories of works that can be protected by copyright laws include paintings, literary works, live performances, photographs, movies, and software.
Any work of a foreigner and stateless person published for the first time and within the territory of China shall enjoy copyright within China in accordance with copyright law. Any work of a foreigner which is published outside China and enjoys copyright under an agreement concluded between the country to which the author belongs and China or under an international treaty in which both countries are parties, shall be protected by this Law.
Registration Categories
1. Written works;
2. Oral works;
3. Musical, dramatic, quyi, choreographic and acrobatic art works;
4. Works of fine-art and architecture;
5. Photographic works;
6. Cinematographic works and works created in a way similar to cinematography;
7. Drawings of engineering designs and product designs, maps, sketches and other graphic works as well as model works;
8. Computer software;
9. Other works as provided in law and administrative regulations.
Time Required
2-3 months (can be accelerated by paying additional official fees)
Term of Validity
(a) Copyright of a natural person's work: throughout the author’s life and 50 years hereafter;
(b) Copyright of a legal entity's or other organisations’ work: 50 years, inclusively, since publication.
As the Internet provides a convenient platform for counterfeits, it is important for IPR owners to monitor infringing products on Chinese e-commerce sites. Precise IP Firm can provide such services as removing infringing products from sale on Taobao, Tmall and Alibaba.
For trademark infringement, you should provide Chinese trademark registration certificate.
For design and utility model infringement, you should provide patent right evaluation report for the patent, and there should be positive comment on the report.
For invention patent infringement, you First Reading provide the patent certificate.
Precise IP Firm has extensive experience of IP litigation, providing litigation services to both domestic and foreign clients throughout China. Our litigation experience includes:
· patent infringement litigation
· trade mark infringement litigation
· copyright infringement litigation
· trade secret litigation
· trade name, product packaging and design protection etc., unfair competition civil litigation
