Zhejiang circuit trademark hearings save businesses time, money

Companies from Zhejiang province had its first circuit hearings by the trademark office of the National Intellectual Property Administration recently. The practice greatly reduced the time and cost it previously took to defend rights, company representatives said.

The office heard two cases in Yiwu in East China, re-examining previous denial of registering the trademark “Yaerle” and announcing invalidation of the “Zhuoshimu” trademark, on Nov 27.

It was the first time that NIPA has sent trademark review officers to deal with trademark disputes in Zhejiang, Xinhua News Agency reported.

A representative from Josiny, which applied for the invalidation of “Zhuoshimu”, said that conventionally, the two parties had to go to Beijing for review, whereas currently they can do it on the spot, which greatly reduces the time and cost of rights protection and can encourage companies to actively defend their rights.

Ma Yanyan, an official from the national trademark office, said, “A circuit hearing, as an innovative and facilitated measure, can better find out facts and safeguard parties’ rights.”

Trademark appraisal has long centered on reviewing paper materials, but with the increasing complexity of the market environment, written reviews cannot satisfy the diversified needs of applicants.

Since a regulation on trademark hearings was implemented in May 2017, related authorities have investigated more than 10 cases in this way. They have also piloted circuit trademark appraisal and explored setting up a trademark review office in Shanghai and Yiwu.

Representatives from the national trademark office said apart from saving parties’ legal expenses for defending rights, circuit review can also increase the public’s legal awareness and capability of IP creation, use and protection. The office will make circuit review a long-term mechanism and promote it, they said.

The two cases in Zhejiang were open to the public and more than 150 corporate representatives from Zhejiang attended.

Chen Hexiu, an executive from a local company in Yiwu, said, “I participated in a trademark hearing for the first time and learned about how to prepare proof and cross-examine.

“My company is having a trademark dispute with an enterprise outside Yiwu and I can now prepare for raising an objection after the hearing,” Chen said.

Statistics show Yiwu had 14,228 new registered trademarks added in the first three quarters of this year, making the total number of the city’s valid trademarks 159,978.

Authorities have also organized three lectures on issues that local companies are concerned with, such as how to stop malicious registration and file international trademark filings via the Madrid System.