China to double fines for trademark infringement

BEIJING - China is expected to double the compensation ceiling for trademark infringement to 2 million yuan ($325,400), according to the latest draft amendment to the Trademark Law.

Compensation ranging from 20,000 yuan to 2 million yuan shall be paid to the holders of trademark rights in the case of infringement, according to the draft tabled for a second reading at the ongoing four-day bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

The first draft amendment set the compensation ceiling at 1 million yuan, up from 500,000 yuan under the current law.

The move aims to better protect exclusive trademark rights and further crack down on infringement, said Xie Jingrong, deputy head of the NPC's law committee.

China adopted its Trademark Law in 1982 and made amendments to the law in 1993 and 2001.

As of June 2012, China held the world's largest number of registered trademarks and valid trademark registrations, at 7.17 million and 6.09 million, respectively, according to the most recent official statistics available.