On June 26, 2026, the 23rd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fourteenth National People’s Congress formally amended the Chinese Trademark Law.
The amended law will come into force on January 1, 2027, introducing significant changes to how trademarks are registered, managed, and enforced across China.
The legislation has been amended five times since it was first adopted at the 24th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People’s Congress on August 23, 1982.
The new amendments represent the most substantial overhaul of China’s trademark framework in recent years, touching nearly every aspect of the registration and enforcement process.
Among the key changes, the law now explicitly states that trademark use includes use through information networks such as the internet, reflecting the growing importance of digital commerce.
The amended law introduces tighter controls on bad-faith filings, stipulating that trademark applications not intended for use and that clearly exceed the needs of normal production and operation shall not be registered.
Authorities now have the power to issue warnings and impose fines of up to 100,000 RMB on applicants who knowingly file malicious trademark registrations that cause adverse effects.
The law strengthens protections for well-known trademarks, confirming that holders of well-known marks are not subject to the standard five-year time limit when challenging malicious trademark registrations.
Trademark licences that have not been filed for recordation with the State Council’s trademark administration department cannot be asserted against a bona fide third party, closing a significant gap in previous protections.
The revised legislation also places new obligations on the State Council’s trademark administration department to build an information-based and intelligent trademark public service system, improving both accessibility and transparency.
Fines for misleading use of a registered trademark have been updated, with penalties of up to five times the illegal business volume where that volume exceeds 50,000 RMB, or up to 250,000 RMB where no measurable illegal business volume exists.
The law also clarifies that a registered trademark can be cancelled if it becomes the generic name for the goods it covers, or if it has not been used for three consecutive years without justifiable reason.
The translation of the amended law was prepared by Aaron Wininger of Schwegman, Lundberg and Woessner, P.A., and is expected to be updated once an official translation is released by the National People’s Congress or the China National Intellectual Property Administration.