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Measures for the Registration and Administration of Collective Marks and
Certification Marks
(Issued by the State
Administration for Industry and Commerce on April 17, 2003)
Article 1 These Measures are hereby
formulated in accordance with the provision of Article 3 of the Trademark
Law of the People¡¯s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the
Trademark Law).
Article 2 The registration and administration of collective marks and
certification marks shall be conducted in accordance with the relevant
provisions of the Trademark Law, the Implementing Regulations for the
Trademark Law of the People¡¯s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as
the Implementing Regulations) and these Measures.
Article 3 The provisions of these Measures concerning goods shall apply to
services.
Article 4 Any party applying for the registration of a collective mark shall
furnish documents certifying the qualification of the subject and indicate
in detail the names and addresses of the members of the collective. Any
party applying for the registration of a geographic indication as a
collective mark shall furnish documents certifying the qualification of the
subject and submit the detailed information of the professionals and special
testing equipments of its own or of any other organization authorized by it
to show its capability of supervising the particular quality of the goods to
which the said geographic indication applies.
A society, an association or any other organization applying
for the registration of a geographic indication as a
collective mark shall be composed of members from within the
region indicated by the geographic indication.
Article 5 Any party applying for the registration of a
certification mark shall furnish documents certifying the
qualification of the subject and submit detailed information
of the professionals and special testing equipments of its own
or of any other organization authorized by it to show its
capability of supervising the particular quality of the goods
to which the said certification mark applies.
Article 6 Any party applying for the registration of a
geographic indication as a collective mark or a certification
mark shall also furnish the approval documents issued by the
people¡¯s government which has jurisdiction thereover or the
competent authority of the industry.
Any foreign person or enterprise applying for the registration
of a geographical indication as a collective mark or a
certification mark, he or it shall furnish documents
certifying that the geographic indication in question, in his
or its name, is under the legal protection in the country of
origin.
Article 7 Any party applying for the registration of a
geographic indication as a collective mark or a certification
mark shall present the following information in the
application documents:
(i) the given quality, reputation or any other characteristic
of the goods indicated by the geographic indication;
(ii)the correlation between the given quality, reputation or
any other characteristic of the goods and the natural and
human factors of the region indicated by the geographic
indication;
(iii)the boundary of the region indicated by the geographic
indication.
Article 8 A geographic indication in respect of which an
application is filed for the registration as a collective mark
or a certification mark may be a name of the region indicated
by the geographic indication, or any other visual signs
capable of indicating that a goods originate from the region.
The region referred to in the preceding paragraph is not
required to be fully consistent with the name or boundary of
the current administrative division.
Article 9 Where several geographic indications for wines
constitute homonyms and these geographic indications can be
distinguished from one another and do not mislead the
public, each geographic indication may be applied for the
registration as a collective mark or certification mark.
Article 10 The regulation governing the use of a collective
mark shall include:
(i) the purpose of using the collective mark;
(ii) the quality of the goods to which the collective mark
applies;
(iii) the procedures for using the collective mark;
(iv) the rights and obligations entailed in the use of the
collective mark;
(v) the liability the members shall bear for breaching the
regulation;
(vi) the registrant¡¯s system for the inspection and
supervision of the goods to which the collective mark applies.
Article 11 The regulation governing the use of a certification
mark shall include:
(i) the purpose of using the certification mark;
(ii) the particular quality of the goods certified by the
certification mark;
(iii) the conditions for using the certification mark;
(iv) the procedure for using the certification mark;
(v) the rights and obligation entailed in the use of the
certification mark;
(vi) the liability a user shall bear for breaching the
regulation;
(vii) the registrant¡¯s system for the inspection and
supervision of the goods to which the certification mark
applies.
Article 12 Where any party uses another party¡¯s registered
geographical indication for wines or spirits as a collective
mark or certification mark to identify wines or spirits not
originating in the place indicated by the geographical
indication in question, even where the true origin of the
goods is indicated or the geographical indication is used in
translation or accompanied by expressions such as ¡°kind¡±,
¡°type¡±, ¡°style¡±, ¡°imitation¡± or the like, Article 16 or the
Trademark Law shall apply.
Article 13 The content of the publication of a collective mark
or certification mark after the preliminary examination shall
include the full text or abstract of the regulation governing
the use of the mark in question.
Any amendment made by the registrant of a collective mark or
certification mark to the regulation governing the use of the
mark shall be submitted to the Trademark Office for
examination and approval, and the amendments shall come into
effect on the date of publication.
Article 14 If a change occurs in the membership of the
registrant of a collective mark, the registrant shall apply to
the Trademark Office for the modification of the registered
matters and the Trademark Office shall publish it.
Article 15 where the registrant of a certification mark allows
another party to use his or its mark, he or it shall report to
the Trademark Office for record, and the Trademark Office
shall publish it.
Article 16 When an application is filed for the assignment of
a collective mark or a certification mark, the assignee shall
have the relevant qualification as a subject and shall comply
with the provisions of the Trademark Law, the Implementing
Regulations and these Measures.
Where a transfer of a collective mark or a certification mark
occurs, the transferee of the right shall have the relevant
qualification as a subject and comply with the provisions of
the Trademark Law, the Implementing Regulations and these
Measures.
Article 17 The collective members of the registrant of a
collective mark may use the collective mark after going
through the procedure under the regulation governing the use
of the mark.
Article 18 Any party eligible for the conditions stipulated in
the regulation governing the use of a certification mark may
use the mark after going through the procedure prescribed
therein, and the registrant shall not refuse the party to go
through the procedure.
The fair use of a geographic indication under paragraph two of
Article 6 of the Implementing Regulations shall refer to the
fair use of the geographic name of the said geographic
indication.
Article 19 To authorize the use of a collective mark, the
registrant shall issue the user a Collective Mark Use Permit.
To authorize the use of a certification mark, the registrant
shall issue the user a Certification Mark Use Permit.
Article 20 The registrant of a certification mark shall not
use the certification mark on goods provided by himself or
itself.
Article 21 Where the registrant of a collective mark or a certification mark
fails to exercise effective governing of, or control on, the use of the mark
and , as a result, the goods to which the said mark applies fail to meet the
requirements of the regulation governing the use of the mark, causing
damages to consumers, the administrative authority for industry and commerce
shall order him or it to rectify the situation within a time limit. If the
registrant refuses to do so, he or it shall be imposed a fine of three times
of the illicit income, but not exceeding RMB30,000 Yuan; in the absence of
any illicit income, a fine of RMB10,000 Yuan shall be imposed.
Article 22 Where the provisions of Article 6 of the Implementing Regulations
and Article 14,15,17,18 and 20 of these Measures are violated, the
administrative authority for industry and commerce shall order him or it to
rectify the situation within a time limit. If he or it refuses to do so, a
fine of three times of the illicit income shall be imposed, but not
exceeding RMB30,000 Yuan; in the absence of any illicit income, a fine of
RMB10,000 Yuan shall be imposed.
Article 23 These Measures shall come into force on June 1, 2003. The
Regulation for the Registration and Administration of Collective Marks and
Certification Marks issued by the State Administration for Industry and
Commerce on December 30, 1994 shall be abrogated simultaneously.
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