Heavy! The State Administration of Municipal Supervision has issued the new "Regulations on the Supervision and Management of Trademark Agents", which will come into effect on December 1, 2022!-Industry News-Shenzhen deep trust patent Agency Co., LTD

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Heavy! The State Administration of Municipal Supervision has issued the new "Regulations on the Supervision and Management of Trademark Agents", which will come into effect on December 1, 2022!

Release Time：

2022-11-01

Chapter 2 Registration of Trademark Agency Chapter 3 Code of Conduct for Trademark Agency Chapter 4 Supervision of Trademark Agency Chapter 5 Handling of Illegal Conduct of Trademark Agency

Recently, the "Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Trademark Agency" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") were released. This is an important measure to resolutely implement the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on "strengthening the legal protection of intellectual property rights". It is an important step to improve the intellectual property agency management system and improve supervision. An effective means of standardizing levels.

The "Regulations" adhere to a problem-oriented approach and focus on the current prominent issues such as low entry barriers to entry in the trademark agency industry, too many agencies, non-standard operation and management, and uneven service levels, and further refine aspects such as agency personnel, management systems, and behavioral norms. regulations to improve the overall service quality and development level of the industry from the source. Establish and improve the trademark agency registration system, and by improving the registration procedures, clean up agencies that have not conducted business for a long time and occupy industry resources, and promote the formation of a healthy development pattern of the industry. At the same time, in order to facilitate the registration of agencies, it is stipulated that trademark agencies shall not be required to repeatedly provide information that can be obtained through the government information sharing platform.

The "Regulations" further standardizes trademark agency behavior, stipulates the basic principles of trademark agency business, the obligations that should be performed, and the disclosure of basic matters of the agency. It requires trademark agencies to establish and improve business management systems and business archives systems, and strengthen the professional ethics of practitioners. and professional discipline education.

The "Regulations" enrich the regulatory tools, improve the coordination and cooperation mechanisms such as information sharing, investigation and punishment reporting, and business guidance between the market supervision department and the intellectual property management department, and refine the relevant provisions on trademark agency supervision.

The "Regulations" improve the legal liability for illegal acts of trademark agency and strengthen legal deterrence. Based on practice, the illegal acts of trademark agency listed in the "Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China" and its implementation regulations have been detailed and stipulated to enhance operability. Clarify the illegal circumstances of engaging in trademark agency business through the Internet. It also stipulates the supervisory responsibilities of intellectual property management departments and the disciplinary requirements and accountability for personnel engaged in trademark registration and management.

The promulgation of the "Regulations" provides strong legal support for standardizing trademark agency behavior, improving the quality of trademark agency services, promoting the healthy development of the trademark agency industry, and creating a standardized, orderly, fair competition, and vibrant trademark agency market environment.

The "Regulations" will come into effect on December 1, 2022. The State Administration for Market Regulation and the State Intellectual Property Office will take the release and implementation of the Regulations as an opportunity to continue to strengthen the governance and supervision of the trademark agency industry, guide trademark agencies to operate in compliance with laws and regulations, promote the high-quality development of the trademark agency industry, and maintain standards, transparency, and fairness A fair, honest and honest trademark registration management order.

Provisions on the Supervision and Administration of Trademark Agents

(State Administration for Market Regulation Order No. 63 announced on October 27, 2022, effective from December 1, 2022)

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1 In order to regulate trademark agency behavior, improve the quality of trademark agency services, maintain the normal order of the trademark agency market, and promote the healthy development of the trademark agency industry, in accordance with the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Trademark Law), the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China These regulations are formulated under the Implementation Regulations of the Trademark Law (hereinafter referred to as the Implementation Regulations of the Trademark Law) and other relevant laws and regulations.

Article 2 A trademark agency accepts the entrustment of the client and may handle the following matters in the name of the client within the scope of agency authority in accordance with the law:

(1) Application for trademark registration;

(2) Trademark change, renewal, transfer, and cancellation;

(3) Trademark objection;

(4) Trademark cancellation and invalidation declaration;

(5) Trademark review and settlement of trademark disputes;

(6) Other trademark matters.

The term “trademark agencies” as mentioned in these regulations includes service agencies that are legally registered by the market entity registration authority to engage in trademark agency business and law firms that engage in trademark agency business.

Article 3 Trademark agencies and trademark agency practitioners shall abide by laws, regulations and relevant national regulations, abide by the principle of good faith, abide by professional ethics, standardize professional behavior, improve the quality of trademark agency services, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the client and the normality of the trademark agency market order.

The term "trademark agency practitioners" as mentioned in these regulations includes the person in charge of the trademark agency and the staff of the agency assigned by the trademark agency to undertake the trademark agency business.

Trademark agency practitioners must abide by the law, have a good credit standing, be of good conduct, be familiar with trademark laws and regulations, and have the ability to engage in trademark agency business in accordance with the law.

Article 4 The trademark agency industry organization is a self-regulatory organization of the trademark agency industry.

Trademark agency industry organizations should strictly enforce industry self-discipline, formulate industry self-discipline norms and disciplinary rules in accordance with the provisions of the charter, strengthen business training and education on professional ethics and professional disciplines, organize and guide trademark agencies and trademark agency practitioners to engage in agency business in accordance with the law, and continuously improve Industry service level.

The intellectual property management department shall strengthen supervision and guidance of trademark agency industry organizations in accordance with the law, and support trademark agency industry organizations in strengthening industry self-discipline and standardization.

Encourage trademark agencies and trademark agency practitioners to join trademark agency industry organizations in accordance with the law.

Chapter 2 Trademark Agency Registration

Article 5 If a trademark agency engages in agency business on trademark matters under the jurisdiction of the State Intellectual Property Office, it shall file a record with the State Intellectual Property Office in a timely manner in accordance with the law.

The validity period of trademark agency registration is three years. If it is necessary to continue to engage in agency business after the expiration of the validity period, the trademark agency can apply for renewal registration within six months before the expiration of the validity period. Each renewal of registration is valid for three years, starting from the day after the expiry of the original registration.

Article 6 The registration information of a trademark agency includes:

(1) Business license or law firm practice license;

(2) The name, address, contact information, unified social credit code of the trademark agency, the name of the person in charge, and the names of shareholders and partners of unlisted companies;

(3) Name, ID number, and contact information of the trademark agency employee;

(4) Other information that should be provided by laws, regulations and the State Intellectual Property Office.

The State Intellectual Property Office shall not require trademark agencies to repeatedly provide relevant information that can be obtained through the government information sharing platform.

Article 7 If the registration information of a trademark agency changes, it shall file the change with the State Intellectual Property Office and submit the corresponding materials within thirty days from the actual change or the date of registration and approval by the relevant competent authorities.

Article 8 If a trademark agency applies for deregistration as a market entity and fails to apply for renewal upon expiration of the registration validity period or decides on its own to no longer engage in trademark agency business, its business license or law firm practice license is revoked or revoked, or the State Intellectual Property Office decides to permanently If it ceases to accept its trademark agency business, it shall handle the unfinished trademark agency business properly and then apply for cancellation registration with the State Intellectual Property Office.

If a trademark agency has the circumstances specified in the preceding paragraph, the State Intellectual Property Office shall mark it in the trademark online service system and trademark agency system, and will no longer accept its trademark agency business applications, except for processing uncompleted trademark agency business. .

A trademark agency shall, before applying for market entities to cancel their registration or decide on their own initiative to no longer engage in trademark agency business, or within thirty days from the date of receipt of a decision to cancel or revoke, or a decision to permanently cease accepting trademark agency business, in accordance with laws and regulations. It is stipulated and agreed in the contract to properly handle unfinished trademark agency business, notify the client to handle changes in trademark agency, or sign a business transfer agreement with other registered trademark agencies with the consent of the client.

Article 9 If the filing, change filing, continuation filing or cancellation filing materials submitted by the trademark agency comply with the regulations, the State Intellectual Property Office shall handle it in a timely manner, notify the trademark agency and make it public to the public in accordance with the law.

Chapter 3 Trademark Agency Code of Conduct

Article 10 Trademark agencies shall not use unfair means such as fraud or deception when engaging in trademark agency business, and shall not harm national interests, social public interests, or the legitimate rights and interests of others.

A trademark agency shall not apply for registration in disguised form or transfer trademarks other than its agency services in the name of its legal representative, shareholder, partner, actual controller, senior manager, employee, etc., nor may it establish another market entity or pass Market entities that are related to it engage in the above behaviors in other ways.

Article 11 Trademark agencies shall actively perform management responsibilities, standardize the professional behavior of the agency’s trademark agency practitioners, and establish and improve quality management, conflict of interest review, malicious application screening, complaint handling, confidentiality management, personnel management, financial management, archives Management and other management systems, supervise the agency's trademark agency practitioners' compliance with laws, regulations, industry norms, etc., and promptly correct problems if they are discovered.

Trademark agencies should strengthen the professional ethics and professional discipline education for their trademark agency employees, organize business learning, and provide conditions for them to participate in business training and continuing education.

Article 12 A trademark agency shall hang its business license or law firm practice license in a conspicuous place of its residence or business premises.

If a trademark agency engages in trademark agency business through the Internet, it shall continue to publish the name of the agency, business premises, business scope and other information recorded in the business license or law firm practice license in a prominent position on the homepage of its website or the main page where it engages in business activities, and Other trademark agency business registration information, etc.

Article 13 When a trademark agency engages in trademark agency business, it shall sign a trademark agency entrustment contract in writing with the client, and stipulate the rights and obligations of both parties and other matters in accordance with the law. Trademark agency contracts must not violate laws, regulations and relevant national regulations.

Article 14 When a trademark agency accepts entrustment to handle trademark agency business, it shall conduct a conflict of interest review and shall not accept entrustment from two parties with conflicts of interest in the same case.

Article 15 A trademark agency shall handle trademark registration applications or other trademark matters in accordance with the requirements of the client and shall comply with relevant regulations on the protection of trade secrets and personal information during the agency process.

If the trademark applied for registration by the client may be prohibited from registration under the Trademark Law, the trademark agency shall clearly inform the client through written notice or other means.

If a trademark agency knows or should know that the trademark applied for registration by the client falls under the circumstances specified in Articles 4, 15 and 32 of the Trademark Law, it shall not accept its entrustment.

Trademark agencies shall strictly perform their agency duties, and in accordance with Article 27 of the Trademark Law, check the matters reported by the client and the materials provided for trademark registration applications or other trademark matters, and promptly notify the client of the progress of the entrusted matters. situation, and the submission of legal documents and materials without any justifiable reasons shall not be delayed.

Article 16 Trademark agency practitioners shall undertake trademark agency business as assigned by the trademark agency and shall not accept entrustment in their own name.

Trademark agency practitioners are not allowed to engage in trademark agency business in more than two trademark agencies at the same time.

Article 17 Relevant documents submitted by a trademark agency to the State Intellectual Property Office shall be stamped with the official seal of the agency and signed by relevant trademark agency practitioners.

Trademark agencies and trademark agency practitioners are responsible for the trademark agency business handled with their seals and signatures.

Article 18 A trademark agency shall promptly file and archive the case files and relevant materials of the business it handles and properly keep them.

The records of trademark agencies must be true, accurate and complete.

Article 19 The fees charged by trademark agencies shall abide by relevant laws and regulations, follow the principles of voluntariness, fairness, reasonableness and good faith, and take into account both economic and social benefits.

Chapter 4 Trademark Agency Supervision

Article 20 The intellectual property management department shall establish credit files for trademark agencies and trademark agency practitioners.

The State Intellectual Property Office collects and organizes credit file information and carries out graded and classified evaluations of the trademark agency industry. Local intellectual property management departments, market supervision and management departments, and trademark agency industry organizations should assist in the collection and organization of credit file information.

Article 21 The following information shall be recorded in the credit files of trademark agencies and trademark agency practitioners:

(1) Information on administrative penalties imposed on trademark agencies and trademark agency practitioners;

(2) Information on the supervision and inspection of trademark agencies;

(3) Information about trademark agencies and trademark agency practitioners joining trademark agency industry organizations and being punished by trademark agency industry organizations;

(4) Information that the trademark agency has been included in the list of abnormal business operations or the list of serious violations of law and dishonesty;

(5) Other information that can reflect the credit status of the trademark agency.

Article 22 Trademark agencies shall submit annual reports in accordance with relevant national regulations.

Article 23 If a trademark agency intentionally infringes on intellectual property rights, submits malicious trademark registration applications, harms public interests, engages in serious illegal trademark agency behavior, is egregious in nature, serious in nature, and causes great social harm, and is subject to heavier administrative penalties, it shall be punished in accordance with The "Measures for the Management of the List of Serious Violators and Untrustworthy Persons in Market Supervision and Administration" and other relevant regulations have been included in the list of serious illegal and untrustworthy persons.

Article 24 The intellectual property management department shall supervise and inspect the agency behavior of trademark agencies and trademark agency practitioners in accordance with the law. They may consult and copy relevant materials in accordance with the law, question the parties or other units and individuals related to the case, and require the parties or relevant personnel to Provide relevant materials truthfully within a certain period of time, and take other legal, necessary and reasonable measures. Trademark agencies and trademark agency practitioners should provide assistance and cooperation.

Article 25 The intellectual property management department shall guide trademark agencies to legally engage in trademark agency business and improve service quality.

For trademark agencies or trademark agency practitioners who have violated laws and regulations in trademark agency, the intellectual property management department may interview them in accordance with their duties, put forward opinions, and urge them to make timely rectifications.

Article 26 The intellectual property management department is responsible for the release and publicity of trademark agency and other information, and improves the coordination and cooperation mechanism with the market supervision and management department for information sharing, investigation and handling situation reporting, and business guidance.

Chapter 5 Handling of Illegal Acts of Trademark Agency

Article 27 Under any of the following circumstances, in the process of handling trademark matters as stipulated in Article 68, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Trademark Law, forgery, alteration, or use of forged or altered legal documents, seals, Signed behavior:

(1) Forging or altering official documents and seals of state agencies;

(2) Forging or altering legal documents and seals of other units other than state agencies;

(3) Forging or altering signatures;

(4) Knowing or should know that official documents, legal documents, seals, and signatures are forged or altered, but still use them;

(5) Other situations of forging, altering or using forged or altered legal documents, seals, or signatures.

Article 28 Any of the following circumstances constitutes an act of soliciting trademark agency business by defaming other trademark agencies or other means:

(1) Fabricating and disseminating false or misleading information to damage the business reputation of other trademark agencies;

(2) Instigating or helping others to fabricate and spread false or misleading information, harming the business reputation of other trademark agencies;

(3) Other situations where the trademark agency business is solicited by slandering other trademark agencies.

Article 29 Any of the following circumstances shall constitute behavior that disrupts the order of the trademark agency market by other unfair means as stipulated in Article 68, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of the Trademark Law:

(1) Know or should know that the client applies for registration by deception or other improper means, or uses information such as emergencies, public figures, public opinion hot spots, etc. to maliciously apply for registration of a trademark that is harmful to socialist morals or has other adverse effects , still accept the entrustment;

(2) Bribing or conveying benefits to personnel engaged in trademark registration and management, or violating regulations to obtain undisclosed information related to trademark registration, requesting the transfer of case-related materials, etc., to seek illegitimate benefits;

(3) Violating laws, regulations and national regulations on business restrictions, hiring personnel who have been engaged in trademark registration and management, and delaying or refusing to correct their hiring behavior after being notified by the intellectual property management department;

(4) Applying for registration of the same trademark on the same or similar goods or services on behalf of different clients, unless the earlier trademark is invalid at the time of application;

(5) Knowing or should know that the transferred trademark is a registered trademark applied for in bad faith, but still helps the bad faith registrant handle the transfer;

(6) Forging the official website, email address, telephone number, etc. of a state agency or providing false information in the name of a state agency employee to mislead the public, or providing trademark business-related materials to the client or charging fees to seek illegitimate benefits;

(7) Knowing or should know that the client is abusing trademark rights but still accepting the entrustment, or instructing the trademark right holder to abuse trademark rights to seek illegitimate benefits;

(8) Knowing or should know that the client is using forged, altered or fabricated false trademark materials, but still helping the client to submit, or maliciously colluding with the client to prepare and submit false trademark application materials;

(9) Reporting other trademark agencies to the competent authorities on fabricated facts;

(10) In order to squeeze out competitors, provide services at a price lower than cost;

(11) Other situations where unfair means are used to disrupt the order of the trademark agency market.

Article 30 Any of the following circumstances shall fall under the provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 19 of the Trademark Law:

(1) Having acted for a client to apply for a registered trademark or handle objections, invalidation declarations and re-examination matters, and the client’s trademark was invalidated by the State Intellectual Property Office due to violation of Article 4, Article 15 or Article 32 of the Trademark Law. After deciding or ruling to reject the application, disapprove the registration or declare it invalid, the applicant still submits another application for registration of the same or similar trademark on the same or similar goods;

(2) Having acted for a client in handling other trademark business, and knowing that the client’s trademark violates the provisions of Article 4, Article 15 or Article 32 of the Trademark Law, still accepts the entrustment;

(3) Violate the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 10 of these Regulations;

(4) Other circumstances falling under paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 19 of the Trademark Law.

Article 31 Any of the following circumstances shall constitute an act of soliciting business by means of fraud, false publicity, misleading, or commercial bribery:

(1) Maliciously colludes with others or fabricates facts to trick the client into entrusting him with trademark matters;

(2) Misleading the client by promising results, exaggerating the success rate of one's own agency business, etc.;

(3) Forging or altering honors or qualifications to deceive or mislead the public;

(4) Obtaining trademark information through theft, bribery, fraud, coercion or other improper means, or disclosing, using, or allowing others to use trademark information obtained through the aforementioned means to seek trading opportunities;

(5) Expressing or implying that abnormal methods can be used to speed up the handling of trademark matters or improve the success rate of handling trademark matters, thereby misleading the client;

(6) Bribing units or individuals with property or other means to seek trading opportunities;

(7) Other situations in which trademark agency business is solicited by improper means.

Article 32 Any of the following circumstances shall constitute the act of accepting entrustment from two parties with conflicting interests in the same trademark case as stipulated in Article 88, Paragraph 3 of the Trademark Law Implementation Regulations:

(1) Accept the entrustment of both parties in trademark opposition, cancellation, invalidation cases or review or litigation procedures;

(2) Having acted on behalf of a client to apply for trademark registration, and also represented others in filing trademark opposition, cancellation, or invalidation applications for the same trademark;

(3) Other situations in which the client is entrusted by two parties with conflicts of interest in the same case.

Article 33 If a trademark agency engages in trademark agency business through the Internet and commits any of the following acts, the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, the Price Law of the People's Republic of China, and the People's Republic of China If there are provisions in laws and regulations such as the Advertising Law of the Republic, those provisions shall prevail; if there are no provisions, the market supervision and management department shall give a warning and may impose a fine of not more than 50,000 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan may be imposed:

(1) Maliciously squeezing out competitors by taking advantage of factors such as its customer resources, platform data, and other operators’ dependence on its trademark agency services;

(2) Conducting false or misleading commercial publicity by fabricating user reviews, falsifying business volume, etc., to deceive or mislead the client;

(3) Affecting the normal operation of the trademark online service system, trademark agency system, etc. through electronic intrusion, unauthorized plug-ins, etc.;

(4) Displaying trademarks with major adverse effects through the Internet;

(5) Other illegal trademark agency activities carried out through the Internet.

Article 34 After the market supervision and administration department investigates and punishes illegal acts of trademark agencies in accordance with Article 68 of the Trademark Law, it shall report the investigation and punishment to the State Intellectual Property Office in accordance with relevant regulations. If the State Intellectual Property Office receives a notification or discovers that a trademark agency has committed an act in Paragraph 1 of Article 68 of the Trademark Law, and the circumstances are serious, it may make a decision in accordance with the law to stop accepting the trademark agency business for more than six months or permanently. , and make an announcement.

Anyone who is subject to administrative penalties three or more times within two years due to illegal trademark agency activities shall be considered a serious case as specified in the preceding paragraph.

If a trademark agency is stopped from accepting trademark agency business, during the period when it stops accepting business, or fails to properly handle the outstanding trademark agency business in accordance with the provisions of Article 8, paragraph 3, of these regulations, the person in charge of the trademark agency, the person directly responsible, and Shareholders and partners with management responsibilities are not allowed to appoint new directors, shareholders or partners in trademark agencies.

Article 35 If the State Intellectual Property Office decides to stop accepting trademark agency business for a trademark agency within a time limit, if the time limit expires and the illegal behavior has been corrected, the decision to stop accepting the trademark agency business will be resumed and announced.

Article 36 A trademark agency engaged in trademark agency business fails to handle registration, change registration, extension registration or cancellation registration in accordance with the law, fails to properly handle unfinished trademark agency business, or violates paragraph 4 of Article 15 of these Regulations It stipulates that if the interests of the client are harmed or the order of the trademark agency market is disrupted, the State Intellectual Property Office will notify it and record it in the credit file of the trademark agency.

If a trademark agency falls under the circumstances mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the market supervision and administration department shall order it to make corrections within a time limit; if it fails to make corrections within the time limit, it shall be given a warning. If the circumstances are serious, it shall be fined not more than RMB 100,000.

Article 37 The intellectual property management department shall improve the internal supervision system and strengthen supervision and inspection of the implementation of laws and regulations and compliance with disciplines by personnel engaged in trademark registration and management.

Personnel engaged in trademark registration and management must enforce the law impartially, be honest and self-disciplined, be loyal to their duties, and serve in a civilized manner. They are not allowed to engage in trademark agency business or engage in or participate in for-profit activities in violation of regulations. The restrictions on employment of personnel engaged in trademark registration and management after resignation shall be implemented in accordance with or with reference to the Civil Servant Law of the People's Republic of China and other laws and regulations and relevant national regulations.

Article 38 Anyone engaged in trademark registration and management who neglects their duties, abuses their power, engages in malpractice for personal gain, illegally handles trademark registration matters and other trademark matters, accepts property from trademark agencies or trademark agency practitioners, and seeks illegitimate benefits shall be Deal with it in accordance with the law; if it constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility will be pursued in accordance with the law.

Article 39 The intellectual property management department shall strictly review, supervise and manage trademarks involved in illegal and disciplinary violations in accordance with the Trademark Law and relevant laws and regulations, and deal with them in a timely manner.

Article 40 If laws and regulations have other provisions on the handling of illegal activities in the business activities of trademark agencies, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 41 In addition to complying with laws, regulations and these regulations, law firms and lawyers engaged in trademark agency business shall also abide by other relevant national regulations.

Article 42 In addition to the trademark agencies specified in Article 2 of these Provisions, any other institution or individual that violates these Provisions and engages in trademark agency business or other activities related to trademark agency business shall be dealt with in accordance with these Provisions.

Article 43 These regulations will come into effect on December 1, 2022.

(Shishuoxinyu)

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