Recently, our firm won the second instance of an administrative lawsuit on invalidation declaration of a patent for invention, successfully having the patent fully invalidated by th...
Recently, our firm won the first instance of an administrative litigation case for invalidation of an invention patent, in which it is ruled that the invention patent should be comp...
Our Firm Represented a Trademark Administrative Reconsideration Case – CNIPA Revokes Its Administrative Act
Trademark administrative reconsideration refers to the administrative reconsideration cases filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) by citizens, legal persons, and other organizations in accordance with the law. This occurs when they believe that specific administrative acts made by the CNIPA in trademark-related administrative procedures – such as trademark registration, modification, assignment, renewal, correction, removal, cancellation, opposition, and invalidation – have infringed their legitimate rights and interests. In practice, the number of such cases is relatively limited. Data shows that in 2024, the CNIPA accepted a total of 2,443 patent and trademark administrative reconsideration cases. Among the trademark-related reconsideration cases, approximately 34% were concluded by termination through settlement. Cases where the CNIPA’s administrative acts were revoked during the reconsideration process are extremely rare.
Recently, in a trademark administrative reconsideration case represented by our firm, the CNIPA has decided to revoke its previously made administrative act. This victory not only lays a solid foundation for the enterprise’s subsequent rights protection actions, but also demonstrates our firm’s professional capabilities and precise strategies in the field of intellectual property protection, serving as another milestone in our unremitting efforts to safeguard clients’ rights and interests.
In this case, the applicant submitted a request to the CNIPA for the issuance of a registration certificate for the Chinese-designated part of its International Registration in Classes 20 and 28. After examination, the CNIPA issued a Notice of Rejection of Trademark Registration Certificate Issuance, on the grounds that the Chinese-designated part of the said International Registration had been rejected in the above two classes.
Our firm represented the applicant in filing an administrative reconsideration against the aforementioned Notice of Rejection. The applicant argued that it had never received the rejection notice issued by the respondent (CNIPA) regarding the Chinese-designated part of the relevant international registered trademark in the two classes. Relying on the administrative authority’s decision, the applicant believed that its international registered trademark had obtained territorial extension protection in China for the two classes and had already been put into actual use on the relevant goods.
After reviewing the administrative reconsideration, the CNIPA found that the respondent had not issued the rejection notice to the applicant within the statutory rejection period. In accordance with the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and relevant Chinese laws, the application for territorial extension protection shall be deemed approved under such circumstances. Based on this, the CNIPA issued a reconsideration decision, deciding to revoke the Notice of Rejection made by the respondent.
In current trademark examination practice, cases where administrative acts are revoked through the administrative reconsideration procedure are extremely rare. The core of the reconsideration request in this case was to point out the procedural defects existing in the administrative authority’s actions. Eventually, the CNIPA fully accepted our claims and made a decision to revoke the relevant administrative act. This outcome is of great significance to the applicant: the validity of the Chinese-designated part of its international registered trademark has been confirmed, and obstacles to its subsequent exercise of rights in China have also been cleared.
