Chapter III Examination for and Approval of Trademark Registration

Article 27 Where a trademark the registration of which has been applied for is in conformity with the relevant provisions of this Law, the Trademark Office shall, after examination, preliminarily approve the trademark and publish it.

Article 28 Where a trademark the registration of which has been applied for is not in conformity with the relevant provisions of this Law, or it is identical with or similar to the trademark of another person that has, in respect of the same or similar goods, been registered or, after examination, preliminarily approved, the Trademark Office shall refuse the application and shall not publish the said trademark.

Article 29 Where two or more applicants apply for the registration of identical or similar trademarks for the same or similar goods, the preliminary approval, after examination, and the publication shall be made for the trademark which was first filed. Where applications are filed on the same day, the preliminary approval, after examination, and the publication shall be made for the trademark which was the earliest used, and the applications of the others shall be refused and their trademarks shall not be published.

Article 30 Any person may, within three months from the date of the publication, file an opposition against the trademark that has, after examination, been preliminarily approved. If no opposition has been filed after the expiration of the time limit from the publication, the registration shall be approved, a certificate of trademark registration shall be issued and the trademark shall be published.

Article 31 An application for the registration of a trademark shall not create any prejudice to the prior right of another person, nor unfair means be used to pre-emptively register the trademark of some reputation another person has used.

Article 32 Where the application for registration of a trademark is refused and no publication of the trademark is made, the Trademark Office shall notify the applicant of the same in writing. Where the applicant is dissatisfied, he may, within fifteen days from receipt of the notice, file an application with the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for a review. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall make a decision and notify 'the applicant in writing.

Any interested party who is not satisfied with the decision made by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board may, within thirty days from receipt of the notice, institute legal proceedings in the People's Court.

Article 33 Where an opposition is filed against the trademark that has, after examination, been preliminarily approved and published, the Trademark Office shall hear both the opponent and applicant state facts and grounds, and shall, after investigation and verification, make a decision. Where any party is dissatisfied, it or he may within fifteen days from receipt of the notification, apply for a reexamination, and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall make a decision and notify both the opponent and applicant in writing.

Any interested party who is not satisfied with the decision made by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board within thirty days from the date of receipt of the notice, may institute legal proceedings in the People's Court. The People's Court shall notify the other party to the trademark reexamination proceeding to be a third party to the litigation.

Article 34 Where the interested party does not, within the statutory time limit, apply for the reexamination of the adjudication by the Trademark Office or does not institute legal proceedings in respect of the adjudication by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, the adjudication takes effect.

Where the opposition cannot be established upon adjudication, the registration shall be approved, a certificate of trademark registration shall be issued and the trademark shall be published; where the opposition is established upon adjudication, the registration shall not be approved.

Where the opposition cannot be established upon adjudication, but the registration is approved, the time of the exclusive right the trademark registration applicant has obtained to use the trademark is counted from the date on which the three months expires from the publication of the preliminary examination.

Article 35 Any application for trademark registration and trademark reexamination shall be examined in due course.

Article 36 Where any trademark registration applicant or registrant finds any obvious errors in the trademark registration documents or application documents, it or he may apply for correction thereof The Trademark Office shall ex officio make the correction according to law and notify the interested party of the correction.

The error correction mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall not relate to the substance of the trademark registration documents or application documents.

Chapter IV Renewal, Assignment and Licensing of Registered Trademarks

Article 37 The period of validity of a registered trademark shall be ten years, counted from the date of approval of the registration.

Article 38 Where the registrant intends to continue to use the registered trademark beyond the expiration of the period of validity, an application for renewal of the registration shall be made within six months before the said expiration. Where no application therefore has been filed within the said period, a grace period of six months may be allowed. If no application has been filed at the expiration the grace period, the registered trademark shall be cancelled.

The period of validity of each renewal of registration shall be ten years.

Any renewal of registration shall be published after it as been approved.

Article 39 Where a registered trademark is assigned, the assignor and assignee shall conclude a contract for the assignment, and jointly file an application with the trademark Office. The assignee shall guarantee the quality of the goods in respect of which the registered trademark is used.

The assignment of a registered trademark shall be published after it has been approved, and the assignee enjoys the exclusive right to use the trademark from the date of publication.

Article 40 Any trademark registrant may, by signing a trademark license contract, authorize other persons to use his registered trademark. The licensor shall supervise the quality of the goods in respect of which the licensee uses his registered trademark, and the licensee shall guarantee the quality of the goods in respect of which the registered Trademark is used.

Where any party is authorized to use a registered trademark of another person, the name of the licensee and the origin of the goods must be indicated on the goods that bear the registered trademark.

The trademark license contract shall be submitted to the Trademark Office for record.