Annual Development Report on China's Trademark Strategy 2012 TRADEMARK OFFICE/TRADEMARK REVIEW AND ADJUDICATION BOARD OF STATE ADMINISTRATION FOR INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA China Industry & Commerce press Preface Preface The year 2012 was a crucial year for comprehensively implementing the spirits of 18th CPC National Congress and initiating the fresh progress of trademark strategy. Carrying out the decisions of SAIC Work Meeting and overall deployments on efficiency constructions of SAIC, officers of AIC system closely focused on the target of providing services for innovative country construction and the objective of realizing scientific development for trademark work, constantly improved efficiencies in trademark registration, utilization, protection and administration to promote trademark strategy implementation to a new level. ——Trademark strategy implementation has been promoted comprehensively. In order to suit the new situations and issues, SAIC made an overall deployment on trademark strategy implementation. In April of 2012, it organized in Ningbo for the first time a trademark strategy implementation seminar among AIC system, which systematically summarized practical experiences and theoretical findings in implementing the strategy and deployed the emphasis of implementation into trademark effective utilization and legitimate protection. In November, SAIC trademark strategy implementation leading group dispatched 10 supervision and evaluation working groups to have comprehensive evaluations to the first batch of model cities (districts) and model enterprises in respect of trademark strategy implementation, which fully explored their advanced experiences from the implementation and effectively encouraged their passions to make new progresses. ——The efficiency of trademark in serving development has been obviously increased. With the overall implementation of trademark strategy, the contribution of trademark to scientific development and innovative country construction was showed comprehensively. Geographical indications and trademarks on agricultural products have also showed increasingly remarkable functions in promoting the increase of farmer’s incomes and of agriculture’s effectiveness and the adjustment of local agricultural industrial restruction. By the end of 2012, there were accumulatively 1754 geographical indications registered or preliminarily approved. As to 001 Annual Development Report on China’s Trademark Strategy 2012 trademarks on agricultural products, the accumulative registrations reached 1.2815 million. The instruction to enterprises for implementing “going global” strategy has remarkable achievements, showing the awareness and capacity of Chinese enterprises on trademark international registrations and overseas protections were enhanced further. In 2012, domestic applicants have applied 2100 Madrid International Registrations (one mark for multiple classes), which remained the 7th among Madrid Union. Through the improvement of trademark rights pledge registration service, it helped enterprises to broaden financing channels and 21.46 billion Yuan was financed. ——The efficiency of trademark examinations and reviews has been constantly improved. Under the pressure of unceasingly enlarged trademark applications numbers and continuously increased trademark reviews difficulties, through completion of working mechanisms, proper allocation of officers and excavation of internal potentials, the examination period was maintained within 10 months, and opposition period was shortened to 18 months. In 2012, 1.648 million trademark applications were accepted, 16.3% increased than last year and being world top for consecutive 11 years. 1.227 million trademark applications were examined, 1.8% increased than last year; 73 thousand trademark opposition cases were decided, 28.7% increased than last year; and 52.5 thousand trademark review cases were handled, 50% increased than last year. The accumulative trademark applications in China hit 10 million, with 11.36 million calculated. There were accumulatively 7.656 million trademark registrations and 6.4 million valid registrations, remaining top of the world. ——The efficiency of trademark administration and enforcement has been comprehensively improved. In 2012, AIC system seriously implemented State Council’s opinions on further crackdown on infringement of intellectual property rights and on manufacturing and marketing counterfeit and shoddy goods, and actively carried out relevant special actions. It mobilized 1.5273 million law enforcement officers, checked 394.5 thousand markets of all kinds, destroyed 7339 sites where counterfeit and shoddy goods were manufactured and marketed, investigated and prosecuted 120.4 thousand infringement and counterfeiting cases and confiscated 851 million Yuan. 1576 cases were transferred to judicial organizations, 2.08 times of the numbers in 2010, and 2.024 billion Yuan involved. It promulgated opinions on construction of trademark protection long term mechanism, clarified task assignments, designed specific systems, and promoted a legitimate, standardized and efficient trademark protection long term mechanism, 002 Preface which combined routine administrations with special actions, administrative enforcements with judicial procedures, and integrated trademark registration, utilization, protection and administration together. Furthermore, recognitions to well known trademarks were standardized and the protections were also enhanced. There were 968 well known trademarks being recognized in the procedure of trademark administration and opposition in 2012. So far, 4486 trademarks has been recognized as well known trademarks and has enjoyed enlarged protections. ——The efficiency of trademark administration according to law has been unceasingly enhanced. The Amendment to Trademark Law of People’s Republic of China (draft) has passed the discussion in the executive meeting of the State Council and been delivered to the standing committee of the National People’s Congress for examination. Ancillary regulations such as Regulations for the Implementation of the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China were undergoing smooth revisions. Series of promotions, on the occasion of celebration for the promulgation of trademark law for thirty years, publicized trademark laws and regulations, promoted trademark cultures, displayed trademark works and aroused wide responses. ——The constructions to trademark infrastructures and information system have made solid progresses. In October 2012, trademark office relocated. The overall relocation including archives, information system, officers, furniture and equipments has been in an effective order, and realized SAIC leaders’ requirements “to accept applications without stop, to examine trademarks without interruption, to relocate documents without loss, to keep orders without chaos, and to make standardized improvement”. The relocation has laid a solid foundation for trademark work reaching international level. Trademark office taking the opportunity of relocation, improved its archives’ standardized management, updated hardware for its automatic system to make remarkable achievement in the construction of IT system phase III. It also updated and improved the online application system, which received a 23.3% increase in applications compared with the past year, accounting for 60.2 % of the whole applications received in 2012. Meanwhile, it constantly improved public oriented convenient service in trademark application hall, practically released information in China Trademark Website and solidly promoted trademark affairs public, and therefore comprehensively improved public service level. 3.33 billion clicks on website were reached, 59.6 thousand public consultation calls were answered, 1765 online messages were replied, with a handling rate reaching 100%, and public satisfaction rating five stars. 003 Annual Development Report on China’s Trademark Strategy 2012 In addition, new progress was also made in trademark agencies’ administration, international exchanges and team building, providing a strong support to the continuous and healthy development of trademarks. To better and comprehensively display new achievements of trademark work and trademark strategy implementation, further publicized knowledge of trademark laws, and strengthen awareness of trademark in the whole society, under the instructions of SAIC leaders, Trademark Office and Trademark Review and Adjudication Board compiled the Annual Development Report on China’s Trademark Strategy (2012) (hereinafter referred as Annual Development Report (2012)) . The Annual Development Report (2012) consists of 14 chapters starting with “Implementation of Trademark Strategy”. It systematically recorded the achievements in 2012 made by AIC system in terms of trademark application and registration, trademark administrative enforcement, geographical indications and trademark used in agricultural products, the recognition and protection of well-known and famous marks, trademark review and adjudication, trademark legislation, trademark agencies, local trademark progress, international registration and oversea rights protection, international exchanges and cooperation, trademark publicity, trademark infrastructure and information construction, team building. Major and important events have been pooled in the field of trademark and statistical analysis of various categories of trademark data also has been conducted. As